FAQs

[tom]

Hey! I’m Tom, the programmer for Sorry We’re Closed.

Thank you to everyone who’s tried the game!

This is our debut game and development is carried out by our team of two (me and C.B.). If the art looks familiar, you may have seen some of C.B's work before in Paradise Killer on some of the loading screen paintings and other in-game paintings.

We’re also working with some sound designers, Catton and Ariel, and collaborating with Okumura (prev. No More Heroes and Paradise Killer) for some of the music tracks in the game.

Who's who

If you see a post is from me then you already know! Occasionally you might see a rare post from C.B. but usually they are checking on our social accounts while I look after things here.

"[AG] riv otter" is also around helping to answer questions and keep a note of issues reported. Riv is the community manager from our lovely publisher Akupara Games.

Demo

Our original demo was live from October 2023 to mid-March 2025 and was missing several features and improvements that the full game included. We have since updated the demo so it better reflects the full game.

Here's a post detailing the changes in the new demo and how to access the original 2023 version: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1796580/announcements/detail/498315883610899971

Can my computer run the game?

Most likely yes, I have tried to keep the game as optimised as possible and we have seen it running well on PCs and laptops without a dedicated GPU. I would suggest trying the demo first and if the combat area runs well then you're all good to go for the full game.

Language Support

We are launching with professionally produced localisations in French, Spanish and Japanese. Chinese will be added in 2025.

We’d love to localise in as many languages as we can. Additional languages will depend on how the release goes for us. We hope we’re able to add more in the future.

Remapping Controls

You can remap controls for keyboard or controller in "Settings" > "Controls" then select "Keyboard Remapping" or "Controller Remapping".

For controller there are also some presets you can select from (e.g. d-pad movement) so you don’t need to remap every button but you can if you would like to.

Tank Controls

You can enable tank controls in "Settings" > "Controls" and change the "Movement Style" to "Tank Controls".

Help with Combat

You can use the third eye to stun most enemies. If you open the eye near an enemy they will stop for a moment, similar to when you hit a weak point. This can also be used to interrupt enemy attacks.

You can also open/close your third eye while aiming, use it in combat to stun enemies, get time to attack or escape to a safer position. Keep in mind this doesn't work on bosses, your third eye can't stun them.

For bosses, sometimes it helps to be more aggressive with your tactics. If they are waiting before doing one of their moves, you could take the chance to go and attack them - before they attack you! This is particularly helpful on some of the attacks used by the second boss and the final boss.

There are also some settings you can adjust to help with combat.

"Settings"> "Controls" > "Controller Settings"

• Adjust the horizontal/vertical sensitivity

"Settings"> "Accessibility"

• Enable "enemy lock on" to automatically rotate to the closest enemy when aiming (the target enemy will be highlighted on screen)
  
• Adjust the "weak point aim assist" to more easily aim towards enemy weak points
  
• Adjust the "weak point stickiness" to make the cursor cling more or less to enemy weak points after aiming at them
  
• Enable the "water of life" to add a permanent water bottle to your inventory that can be reused

Toggle Sprint and Aiming

In "Settings" > "Accessibility" there are options to toggle on/off running or aiming rather than needing to hold the button down.

Comfort Settings

In "Settings"> "Accessibility" there are options to disable the dialogue typewriter, camera sway and first person field of view.

[tom]

Originally posted by Dream:

I died in the last hallway that had a critter i crushed. And crushed it again and it give me lile 6/5 result screen lol not a big deal but thougjt i'd let you know. Other than that it was great throughout

Thank you Dream, this issue with re-crushing bugs is resolved in the most recent patch.

[tom]

Originally posted by Phoenix:

Hi, just finished the game on Steam Deck and had fun with it! I did run into a bug where I moved by analog around a bit while the credits were scrolling and Michelle's death sound played and the retry screen came up.

That is definitely one to add to the list of fixes, thanks for taking the time to let me know!

[tom]

Originally posted by Pitchie:

Hi! I've encountered at least 2 bugs, I think. 1 in the first hotel sequence, Eyesore's room just killed me when i went in. Instant Death.
2, a game breaking bug; in Dream Eater's second phase fight in the library, the spots to charge Heartbreaker aren't coming up at all. I've found all the spots, but nothing happens when I stand near/on them at all.
ETA: I have reloaded the save point multiple times, and occasionally the second point in the central area will trigger, but the hidden one never does. It's an absolute gamebreaking bug.

Hi Pitchie, could I ask for some extra information here to help me understand what you're seeing? I have marked it as a spoiler in case other players haven't reached this spot yet.

Re library fight: with the spots you've found, are you breaking the body on the floor to show the charging spot? You can use a weapon to break open the body and don't need to wait for Dream Eater to damage it.

If you have already done the above and it's not working I will certainly look if I can recreate and fix this. It's not something we've had a previous report of.

I will also check on the Eyesore room, thanks for letting me know about it.

Thank you

Tom

[tom]

Originally posted by Cruxia:

I have a link to the clip when it happened https://www.twitch.tv/xcruxia/clip/AverageBetterStrawberryBudStar-28tW43WjZpOJ1yZg , you're welcome to check out the whole VOD to see if something may have triggered the bug :cupup:

Hey, thanks so much for the video. I've been able to recreate the issue and a fix will be included in the next patch. You'll be able to load you save, talk to the eye and it will open again for you.

Update: the patch is now live. If the download hasn't already automatically started then you can prompt the game to update by right clicking it in your library, then select “Properties” from the dropdown list, then in the “Installed Files” tab select “Verify integrity of game files”.

Thank you

Tom

[Wiserthanthou]

Hi! My girlfriend and I just started playing this and we absolutely love it! We are on Steam Deck, playing it hooked up to the official Valve dock. We had zero problems until (avoiding spoilers) we were attacked the first time. The game froze and I just happened to leave it running while I looked on ProtonDB for options, and it unfroze and the scene played out how it was supposed to. Everything was good again until we got access to the Third Eye power. Everytime I activate it the game freezes but, again, unfreezes after a minute or so. But it seems like this is the main mechanic of the game so it doesn't seem like it will be playable like this.

I've tried the default Proton selection and Proton experimental and they both did the same thing. My girlfriend seems to think Experimental at least had the freeze fix quicker but not fast enough for it to be playable. Thought I would post this here as everywhere I can find online says it works perfectly on Steam Deck.

[tom]

Originally posted by Wiserthanthou:

Hi! My girlfriend and I just started playing this and we absolutely love it! We are on Steam Deck, playing it hooked up to the official Valve dock. We had zero problems until (avoiding spoilers) we were attacked the first time. The game froze and I just happened to leave it running while I looked on ProtonDB for options, and it unfroze and the scene played out how it was supposed to. Everything was good again until we got access to the Third Eye power. Everytime I activate it the game freezes but, again, unfreezes after a minute or so. But it seems like this is the main mechanic of the game so it doesn't seem like it will be playable with this.

I've tried the default Proton selection and Proton experimental and they both did the same thing. My girlfriend seems to think Experimental at least had the freeze fix quicker but not fast enough for it to be playable. Thought I would post this here as everywhere I can find online says it works perfectly on Steam Deck.

Hey, this sounds very strange. We've seen many people playing on Deck without issue and have our own Deck where it runs well. We've completed the game from start to finish on Deck with no freezes like the ones you mentioned. We also have the official Valve Dock and have tested for many hours on the TV using it.

I haven't dabbled with different proton versions, but I can tell you the settings on my Deck if that helps.

• Steam Deck Settings: update channel is set as "stable" and everything is up-to-date, the game is installed to the internal drive
  
• Steam Deck Performance Settings: all default
  
• Game Settings (set from the Library): no changes, so no launch options, compatibility (nothing selected, have not ticked to "force specific compatibility tool") or anything else here
  
• In-game settings: all default, you can visit "Settings" > "Video" and click "Reset" if you have changed any

Some thoughts/things to try:

• Does doing a full shutdown and then turning the Deck on again help?
  
• Have you changed any performance settings on the Deck, does changing back to the default ones help?
  
• Are other games still running well for you?
  
• If you play in handheld mode rather than using the Dock is there any change?

Thank you

Tom

[Wiserthanthou]

Originally posted by tom:

Originally posted by Wiserthanthou:

Hi! My girlfriend and I just started playing this and we absolutely love it! We are on Steam Deck, playing it hooked up to the official Valve dock. We had zero problems until (avoiding spoilers) we were attacked the first time. The game froze and I just happened to leave it running while I looked on ProtonDB for options, and it unfroze and the scene played out how it was supposed to. Everything was good again until we got access to the Third Eye power. Everytime I activate it the game freezes but, again, unfreezes after a minute or so. But it seems like this is the main mechanic of the game so it doesn't seem like it will be playable with this.

I've tried the default Proton selection and Proton experimental and they both did the same thing. My girlfriend seems to think Experimental at least had the freeze fix quicker but not fast enough for it to be playable. Thought I would post this here as everywhere I can find online says it works perfectly on Steam Deck.

Hey, this sounds very strange. We've seen many people playing on Deck without issue and have our own Deck where it runs well. We've completed the game from start to finish on Deck with no freezes like the ones you mentioned. We also have the official Valve Dock and have tested for many hours on the TV using it.

I haven't dabbled with different proton versions, but I can tell you the settings on my Deck if that helps.

• Steam Deck Settings: update channel is set as "stable" and everything is up-to-date, the game is installed to the internal drive
  
• Steam Deck Performance Settings: all default
  
• Game Settings (set from the Library): no changes, so no launch options, compatibility (nothing selected, have not ticked to "force specific compatibility tool") or anything else here
  
• In-game settings: all default, you can visit "Settings" > "Video" and click "Reset" if you have changed any

Some thoughts/things to try:

• Does doing a full shutdown and then turning the Deck on again help?
  
• Have you changed any performance settings on the Deck, does changing back to the default ones help?
  
• Are other games still running well for you?
  
• If you play in handheld mode rather than using the Dock is there any change?

Thank you

Tom

Thanks so much, I fixed it! There was a Steam Deck update I didn't realize I hadn't installed. Did that, reset it. Verified the game files. Put back default Proton settings and hit the reset Video options in the games settings. And now the third eye works normally! :D

But, uh, right before I did all that, I made one more attempt with how I had it and, something strange happened. I loaded my save file and this popped up:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3369412403

Please tell me that's what the desktop icon for the game looks like 😅

[tom]

Originally posted by Wiserthanthou:

Thanks so much, I fixed it! There was a Steam Deck update I didn't realize I hadn't installed. Did that, reset it. Verified the game files. Put back default Proton settings and hit the reset Video options in the games settings. And now the third eye works normally! :D

But, uh, right before I did all that, I made one more attempt with how I had it and, something strange happened. I loaded my save file and this popped up:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3369412403

Please tell me that's what the desktop icon for the game looks like 😅

Glad it's working for you now - and yes haha, that is the desktop icon for the game!

[ahaha.wav]

Hey, just ran into a bug where when loading a save at the "Hotel Ascent" phone, it's possible to proceed to the next room, run past the enemy and through the wall of spikes, allowing the player to fall into the abyss and die.

Not a major issue as I doubt the majority of players would even think to try it (I was trying for the 15 deaths achievement), but figured it's likely worth reporting anyway.

[Foxyrat]

Any chance you can add an auto-text/advance option for dialogue to a future update?

[BadFuture]

Hi, I'm on an AZERTY keyboard and I've remapped movement to ZQSD as it is the WASD equivalent, however selecting options in dialogue (like when talking to the operator to save) still uses WASD, making it quite awkward.
Playing on Linux with Wayland if that happens to be a factor.

[tom]

Originally posted by ahaha.wav:

Hey, just ran into a bug where when loading a save at the "Hotel Ascent" phone, it's possible to proceed to the next room, run past the enemy and through the wall of spikes, allowing the player to fall into the abyss and die.

Not a major issue as I doubt the majority of players would even think to try it (I was trying for the 15 deaths achievement), but figured it's likely worth reporting anyway.

Hey ahaha.wav

Thanks for reporting this - it is one I have had a little lower on my list as, like you say, it is not common to encounter. I will get to fixing it and the time to let me know is appreciated.

Thank you

Tom

p.s. I saw you got the 100%, congratulations!

[tom]

Originally posted by Foxyrat:

Any chance you can add an auto-text/advance option for dialogue to a future update?

Hi Foxyrat

Thanks for the suggestion, I can understand the request. We have seen some players using an external program to do this for speedruns and second playthroughs.

I have added it to our list for feature requests but I can't promise we will get to add it in. It wouldn't be something coming in the very immediate future as it would need additional translations for settings as well as the dev time. I will keep it in mind when I come to look at additional features after the important bug fixes.

Thank you

Tom

[tom]

Originally posted by BadFuture:

Hi, I'm on an AZERTY keyboard and I've remapped movement to ZQSD as it is the WASD equivalent, however selecting options in dialogue (like when talking to the operator to save) still uses WASD, making it quite awkward.
Playing on Linux with Wayland if that happens to be a factor.

Hi BadFuture

Thanks for mentioning this and the extra detail on your setup. I intend to add in a feature where users can select QWERTY or AZERTY keyboard layouts in the settings. This will let the movement and UI controls update accordingly.

If it helps in the meantime, the up/down arrow keys on the keyboard will also allow option selection in dialogue.

Thank you

Tom

[tom]

Originally posted by Ceilidh:

Thank you for your answer!
If it can help, here are more details: basically MP3 files are considered "lossy", and considering Bandcamp is offering the OST for the same price in several formats, including virtually lossless formats, such as FLAC, I thought it would be a good idea to mention that, since it actually is a "better" deal to get the OST from Bandcamp instead of Steam.

I don't know what is the better option for you in that case, as I want to support the game and I might end up getting the OST from Bandcamp too anyway, due to some other advantages Bandcamp offers :D

Hey Ceilidh, sorry for the wait on this one. We have high quality wav files (1GB) uploaded for the OST on Steam now. This is available to everyone who's previously purchased the OST as well as the original ~200mb download.