Choice of Life: Floors

An elevator ride into your own mind

Choice of Life: Floors opens on a deceptively simple premise: an elevator descending through the endless floors of the protagonist's own home, a ride that quickly turns into a psychological horror detective story pitting the protagonist against their own unravelling mind. Released on 13 August 2026 by Potata Company and Blazing Planet Studio at NZ$9.59, it's a card-and-choice entry in the long-running Choice of Life series, and its Positive early reception suggests this darker, more introspective installment has landed well with the series' existing audience.

Illustrations reviewers call a genuine highlight

The clearest praise across the sample concerns the game's art. The sample's most detailed reviewer, comparing the game favourably to an earlier series entry, writes that it's "a pleasure to be immersed in the beautiful illustrations," specifically noting there are many of them, that they're varied, and crucially that they "correspond to the essence of the narrative" rather than existing purely for decoration. That reviewer's preference for this entry over an earlier one in the series is a notable signal for returning players wondering whether the newer installment holds up.

A mental-health mechanic reviewers say fits the setting

Beyond its visuals, reviewers specifically highlight a new mechanical addition tied to the game's horror themes. One detailed reviewer writes that "the mental health mechanic is a nice addition and fits the setting really well," layered onto the series' familiar card-flipping choice structure. That same reviewer singles out the game's atmosphere as their favourite part, praising the art and "excellent" music together with "this dark, slightly depressing Eastern European vibe" that specifically reminded them of Silent Hill, a strong point of comparison for a card-based narrative game to earn.

Dark comedy alongside real horror

Several reviewers specifically enjoy how the game balances its horror elements with a streak of dark, absurdist humour. One reviewer, visibly delighted, calls the experience "mad" and praises its "chthonic vibe" enthusiastically, while another jokes about the game's darker beats directly, rating the experience "10 kicked grannies out of 10" while reassuring other players not to worry too much about a specific unfortunate cat mentioned during the story. A separate, more measured review credits the writing specifically, noting "the humor is genuinely good" and that the branching structure "give[s] the game great replayability."

A new stat system that takes some getting used to

Set against that praise, one reviewer is candid about an early learning curve tied to the game's new systems, writing "at first, I didn't really understand the new stats in the game, I was just pecking around randomly and had no idea what was going on," before eventually working out how the new mechanics fit together. That same reviewer suggests the developers add clearer icons for these stats in a future update, a concrete, actionable piece of feedback for players coming in without prior series knowledge of what's changed.

Short, but well-regarded for what it offers

The sample's most detailed review is direct about the game's length, noting simply that "the game isn't very long," a comment offered without much complaint from a reviewer who otherwise rates the experience highly and specifically prefers it to an earlier series installment. That combination, real praise for craft and atmosphere alongside acknowledgment of a shorter runtime, is broadly echoed by the branching-choice structure other reviewers highlight as the game's main source of extended replay value beyond a single playthrough.

An urban-fantasy nightmare grounded in a specific reality

The developer's own pitch frames the premise starkly: "to find yourself in a world of your own nightmares, you only need to step into the wrong elevator," using found items and fighting the creatures of the protagonist's own mind while deciding whether to escape or drown in it forever. The sample's most detailed reviewer specifically praises how well the game channels "one aspect of CIS reality" through a lens of magical realism and urban fantasy, where everyday domestic reality is "intertwined with a magical world that always resides somewhere nearby," a specific cultural grounding that reviewer credits alongside the art as one of the game's strongest qualities.

A specific complaint about shallow psychological writing

That same detailed reviewer, while recommending the game overall, singles out one aspect they found genuinely weak: what they call "very simple flirtations with superficial psychological themes, like childhood traumas, family difficulties, etc.," arguing the writing treats real psychological struggles too lightly for their taste. It's a pointed, specific piece of criticism rather than a blanket complaint, and it sits alongside that same reviewer's praise for the game's first ending arriving in about an hour, on the grounds that "it's better to complete a good game than to abandon another mediocre one."

A dissenting voice from a returning player

Not every reviewer is convinced the series is trending upward. One negative review, written in Russian, states plainly that "each next game is worse than the previous one," a blunt piece of dissent from what reads as a player familiar with multiple entries in the Choice of Life series, offering a useful counterweight to the otherwise consistently positive English-language reception in the sample.

What the achievement data says about how players finish it

Global achievement data offers a useful cross-check on how players are engaging with the game's branching structure. An early achievement tied to the game's title screen sits at a high 84.1%, and a "cat lover" achievement follows at 52.9%, but the game's numbered "final" ending achievements, representing distinct story conclusions, cluster mostly in the 11% to 32% range, a distribution consistent with a branching narrative game where most players land on a handful of common endings rather than exhaustively pursuing every possible outcome.

Final verdict

Choice of Life: Floors backs up a strong, atmospheric entry in a well-established narrative card series with real, specific praise for its illustrated art, its Eastern European horror atmosphere, and a new mental-health mechanic reviewers say fits the setting well, earning a Positive early reception. Its acknowledged weaknesses are equally specific: an unfamiliar early stat system, a short overall runtime, and at least one dissenting voice questioning the series' recent direction. At NZ$9.59, this is a solid recommendation for fans of choice-driven narrative games and dark psychological horror looking for a well-crafted, if compact, new entry in a long-running series.