Sorry We’re Closed review: old school survival horror with plenty of heart

Love hurts

Image credit:Akupara Games

• Developer: à la mode games
• Publisher: Akupara Games
• Release: November 14th, 2024
• On: Windows
• From: Steam
• Price: TBC
• Reviewed on: Intel Core i7-12700F, Nvidia RTX 3080, 16GB RAM, Windows 11

Sorry We’re Closed is a retro survival horror -inspired game about escaping the clutches of an excessively horny demon who desperately wants your heart. As someone who isn’t often into the ’lore’ behind things and prefers to just shoot and ask questions later, I found myself actually asking the questions. I wanted to know why I was targeted by such carnal eroticism. I wanted to know more about my character’s own relationships. How angels fit into the picture. And why lots of the demons seem quite chill, really.

But when it came to the actual survival - the bit I thought I’d enjoy the most - I came away a bit disappointed. Exploration is fine, it’s just the combat is often too frequent and too frequently irritating. I came to dread the action more than the atmosphere, in the end.

You play as Michelle, a shop assistant who has little time for the arsehats (mainly a guy called Darrel) who frequent the store in what’s a gloomy, dead end part of town. She’s having a rough time of it, having broken up with her girlfriend whom she’s definitely still in love with. Just as she’s about to settle into sleep one evening, she’s visited by the equivalent of a sleep paralysis demon, if the sleep paralysis demon was a Victoria’s Secret model dipped in glowstick juice, or a pink balloon smeared in Sharpy. They know you’re lonely and they really like that about you. It’s your first warning sign that something’s not right.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Akupara Games

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The aesthetics are gorgeous! |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Akupara Games

Later, you’re visited by a plump crow who shuffles you through a bizarre library. You get a sense of how exploration works as you move through a space that can helpfully be described as Place That’s A Bit Deathy, with the game’s camera observing you from fixed angles. In those classic Resident Evil ways, it’s like you’re travelling through rooms rigged with tonnes of CCTV cameras. Sometimes it’s top-down, sometimes it’s far away, sometimes it follows you like an aerial drone. So as you inspect some books and talk to the weird crow, it’s terrifying when he reveals he eats dreams and wants you dead and you have to run down some corridors and you can’t see what’s ahead. It’s a second warning sign that something’s not right.

As the great Alice O (RPS in peace) once said: “[Sorry We’re Closed] is like Silent Hill by way of Persona and Paradise Killer “, and I couldn’t agree more. As the story ‘settles’, it’s broken into a loose Persona-like cycle, where you’ll explore a bit of the town, chat with folks, and build connections (these connections don’t help you in fights like Persona, though). Then once you’re done chatting, you’ll head into a dungeon that plunges you into the Resi-meets-Paradise Killer corridor-diving and demon-expunging. Beat the dungeon and another day turns over, refreshing the town, moving the story forwards, and setting you up for another fresh dungeon run.

I’m a big fan of the game’s social side, as you get to know the insufferable meathead that is Darrel and his outlawing of Clarissa, a dancer who used to work at his bar but is no longer allowed to. Lucy doesn’t say too much and seems a bit suspect. And then you’ve got the dependable Robyn, who seems very on board with the occult. They’re all well written and touch on believable romantic issues. Certain conversations are surprisingly nuanced, with intertwining demands that steer you towards different endings depending on the decisions you make.

While a lot of the game’s presented with colour and humour, it’s easy to forget the horrors The Duchess is selfishly inflicting upon people just so she can find love again. She’s literally harvesting and trapping humans in an otherworldly hotel, whereby they’re paraded in front of her day by day and asked whether they love her or not. Of course, a lot of them say “yes” in hope of escape and don’t really mean it. So they get ground to paste or carved up in the kitchen… yikes. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Akupara Games

For instance, Clarissa pines for Darrel’s downfall and asks you to help her out. Say yes and you’ll want to strike when the opportunity arises, ie, when Darrel asks you to deliver a rat that he thinks is a pet hamster to his boyfriend Oakley. It just so happens that Oakley is having his restaurant inspected by cleanliness officials - bingo. Given the option between waiting for the officials to go, or presenting the rodent in front of the officials, you show off the rat, knowing Clarissa’s desires. Oakley is immediately in the shit, Darrel’s also in the shit with Oakley, and Clarissa’s happy with you. All of it feels natural to find and initiate, with plenty of humour thrown in, too.

What’s serious, though, is your third eye, given to you by The Duchess (the pink demon who it turns out is uber powerful and desperate for human hearts, because, well, she wants to love again and heartbroken demon hearts aren’t capable of change). With the snap of your fingers, this extra eye splashes a radius around you that reveals the parallel demon world in real-time. And on the social front, it adds a really fun extra layer to things, letting you interact with quirky demons and the demonic selves of the folks you thought you knew. Like the quiet Lucy who oozes confidence as a two-headed operator who cuts you a deal: bring an end to The Duchess.

To do that, you’ll need to hunt down the Duchess’ victims and collect their third eyes. You’ll do this by heading into dungeons and using your own third eye to witness the memories of folks who’ve not quite got as lucky as you. It’s here where chatter is dropped and you’re to explore eerie aquariums and spiralling crypts, all festering with demons and little puzzles where you’ve got to rotate stuff and gather keys to open locked doors.

I quite like the retro exploration, in how it’s quite unsettling when the camera robs you of vision, so you’ve got to tentatively peruse hallways without knowing what’s coming. And in how paths are laid out, which requires some real-time realm-switching to, like, pass through a path covered in vines.

The let down lies in actually fighting the demons, which makes me sad, because the idea is good. Basically, you’ve got three weapons: an axe, a pistol, and a shotgun. But all of them function in an identical way. Enemies will shamble up to you and you’ll right click, bringing you into first-person mode (very cool). It’s here where you have two options: either shoot them and do some damage until they keel over and die, or activate your third eye, highlighting a shiny heart embedded in their bodies. Shoot the heart and the demon will take lots of damage, either dying, or reproducing a sequence of hearts you’ll need to shoot in succession - until they, too, eventually die. It’s neat! And adds a kind of rhythmic layer to fights, where accuracy and speed makes for a satisfying blam blam blam sequence.

Land shots in a perfect sequence and you’ll charge up an ultra shot. You’ll use this to permanently erase very powerful demons that can’t be killed in the normal way. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Akupara Games

The disappointment comes in how fiddly combat is. I get that fiddliness plays a part in retro-horror’s scare factor, in the ballache that is setting yourself up to actually shoot something and then making each shot count. It’s just that Sorry We’re Closed develops a tendency to chuck a lot of demons at you, where the whole setup routine (third to first person, the third eye, the shooting of hearts) is a surefire way to get thumped by bystanders. Sometimes these little grubs will skitter so close to you that their revealed heart is impossible to hit. So you have to awkwardly backtrack, reposition, and do the whole third eye thing again and take some hits and god it’s annoying.

To be totally frank, I came to resent most fights. Then again, I imagine some of you will have more patience than me and be fine with them. That’s also not to say I wouldn’t recommend Sorry We’re Closed as a whole, because I think its odd universe, its cast of oddballs, and its rich relationships are well worth chasing. There’s a lot of depth beyond the bizarre, happy-go-lucky surface and I genuinely relished extracting delicate human strands from seemingly knotty, impenetrable evil. The emotions fuelling the Duchess. The reason demons exist. The explanation for how an angel and a demon might strive for love but never attain it. And how Michelle learned to grow past her complacency and comfort, all represented by that bastard crow demon. Grit your teeth, accept the combat for what it is, and you’ve got a wonderful story here.

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Sorry We’re Closed

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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