For the most part, Switch 2 ports of previously released games have initially been either mainstay AAAs, indie darlings, or mid-tier titles. I would only consider the Switch 2’s life cycle to have reached a phase beyond the initial launch hype upon seeing microscopic polygonal titles attempting to take advantage of the system’s hardware to offer players better gameplay experiences, improved framerates, and prettier graphics.

Which leads us to today’s subject matter, What Have You Done Father. A tale about Romanian priests from the 1940s, embroiled in a murder mystery featuring lust, drugs, blood, mentions to that conflict that occurred in the world during that specific decade, the possibility of demonic involvement, and so on. You know, the kind of wholesome and cozy experience I tend to associate with a Nintendo platform, and the games featured on said system.

John Cleese, is that you?

Even if the game’s initial cutscene might suggest that we are talking about something that deals with the supernatural, or an Exorcist kind of religious-themed horror, What Have You Done Father is less of this kind of horror and more of a walking simulator wearing a thriller coat. There are no enemies, no actual agency in the gameplay. In fact, there are, literally, two puzzles in this entire game. The rest of what is remotely passing as a gameplay loop is centered around walking through small areas, collecting items, and interacting with specific prompts at specific moments during this very brief runtime.

As subtle as a Mexican telenovela.

Which is, admittedly, very frustrating. I am not the biggest fan of the genre, but at the same time, What Have You Done Father has an actual interesting story, one that grabs your attention until the very end of what, sure, is a two hour long experience, at most. I really don’t want to spoil anything about the plot, as knowing basically nothing about it made me fall for every single plot twist in front of me. Father Mathias (the game’s protagonist) is just an unlucky fella who is thrown into a situation he has never dared to touch in the past. A lot of weird crap ensues, however, and I was pleased, and shocked, when the game’s plot twists managed to catch me off-guard; they are not Shyamalan levels of clever, but hey, I appreciate the decent writing, considering the game’s massive budgetary limitations.

The issue is that this game was obviously developed under massive financial constraints. The Unreal-esque accents are noticeable, despite the considerably decent lighting effects and level design. The voice acting is decent, but there’s not a lot of it; I don’t think they had too much of a budget to have the voice actors around for too long. You can see the idea for a decent game is there, and that there was some modicum of care put into the design document, but the limitations are hard to ignore.

Character models are generic, but I have to commend the quality of some assets, and the lighting effects.

I will make my confession: I expected nothing from What Have You Done Father, and I ended up liking its story, despite the confusing ending. It is a really interesting premise and setting, but considering the small runtime, budgetary limitations, and near absence of interactivity, I feel this would have worked better as a movie. It deserves some credit for creativity and care put into it, considering its limitations, but as a game, it’s a tough recommendation. Maybe at a discount…

What Have You Done, Father? is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC, Switch and Switch 2.

Reviewed on Switch 2.

A copy of What Have You Done, Father? was provided by the publisher.