THRESHOLD REVIEW: WHEN YOUR JOB LITERALLY TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY
Ever wondered what it's like to work a soul-crushing job where every task might actually kill you? Threshold answers that question with a wheezing "yes" and throws in some existential workplace horror for good measure.
BREATHE IN, IF YOU CAN
High in the mountains where the air is thinner than your boss's excuses, you're tasked with maintaining a mysterious border post and keeping an endless train running on schedule. Simple enough, right? Wrong. Every action costs precious breath, and your only salvation comes in the form of rationed air canisters that you earn by being a good little worker bee. It's like Amazon's workplace policies met Soviet-era bureaucracy and had a horrifying baby.
THE DAILY GRIND FROM HELL
Your to-do list reads like a fever dream written by Franz Kafka:
Blow a whistle (and maybe die a little)
Clean water filters (don't ask about the smell)
File reports (bureaucracy is eternal)
Try not to think about what's in the train (seriously, don't)
Chat with Mo (your suspiciously helpful coworker)
The genius here is how quickly you normalize the absolutely abnormal. Oh, just another day of rationing my breath while trying not to peek into a possibly endless train! No biggie!
ATMOSPHERE THICKER THAN THE AIR
The game's PS1-style graphics and sound design work together to create an atmosphere that's more suffocating than the actual lack of oxygen. Every wheeze of your character's labored breathing, every distant rumble of the train, every mechanical clank – it all builds a symphony of workplace anxiety that'll have you reaching for your inhaler.
MO PROBLEMS, MO QUESTIONS
Your coworker Mo is like that one guy at work who's way too cheerful about everything. He's happy to answer any question you have... except the ones that matter. It's like having a HR representative who moonlights as a cryptid.
CHOICES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT MATTER
The game loves to mess with your head about which choices actually matter. Pick your country of origin? Maybe that changes everything. Maybe it changes nothing. Maybe that's the point. It's like a corporate feedback form where every answer could either get you promoted or fired.
TECHNICAL GASPS
While mostly smooth, some players report game-breaking bugs that force restarts, and the late-game can chug harder than the train you're supposed to be monitoring. The lack of save points means you might have to replay sections, which feels a bit like doing unpaid overtime.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Threshold is a masterclass in making mundane tasks terrifying. It's short – about 1.5 hours for your first playthrough – but like any good horror story, it leaves you wanting more while simultaneously being relieved it's over.
For anyone who's ever had a job that felt like it was killing them, this game hits uncomfortably close to home. It's a unique, atmospheric experience that turns workplace dread into actual dread, and somehow makes filing reports feel like a survival horror mechanic.
8/10 - Like your first day at a new job, if that job was in Silent Hill's HR department.