Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling deserves closer inspection

Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling released on March 9, 2023 on Steam, and quickly drew many comparisons to the unusual but well-regarded Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk. Actually, both games come in a package deal on Steam titled “Visions from the ceiling bundle“.

With the two being must-play titles for those partial to psychological visual novel adventure games — and since we have previously spoken about Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk and its sequel — here is Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling getting its own time to shine.

Without further ado, here is our own breakdown and spoiler-free thoughts on silver978’s short but highly effective little creation.

Psychedelic horror = cosy comfort

The game opens up with a nameless protagonist who wakes up, and like any other day, starts preparing herself for a hard day of full-on studying. But as she’s about to go about doing just that, her house’s ceiling catches her eye, and this leads to a distraction so out of this world that it may take some closer inspection to fully understand and escape from it.

Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling contains three endings in total: one good, one bad, and a secret one, clocking in at a total playtime of merely 30-40 minutes to complete it all. There’s a total of 15 Steam achievements to unlock along the way, as long as you are looking in the right places, that is. Upon clearing the story mode’s good ending, a bonus mode unlocks, allowing full exploration of all interactive points of interest in the protagonist’s home in order to discover further lore revelations.

Considering the asking price of just £1.69 and its short runtime, I wanted to cover the game due to the amount of potential that the developer clearly has at creating something even greater than what they have shown here. The game has gorgeous hand-drawn visuals obviously inspired by the iconic Serial Experiments Lain, and the overall aesthetic is both clean and nostalgic. The point-and-click system further perpetuates one of the most important narrative elements of the title as an interactive mechanic – the monotony of its protagonist’s life.

While the majority of interactive points are not meant to be looked at all that deeply or critically, since only a few sections hide the more mysterious and unnatural points of interest, that’s the entire point of its design. It may seem not all that necessary or well-designed depending on how you look at it, but all these seemingly unnecessary interactive points are notable for representing how mundane the protagonist’s life is. It’s actually quite similar to the core function of Off Day, another indie visual novel made to remind us to appreciate the little things in life.

So when Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling gets to its more trippy, psychedelic imagery that seeps through at an increasing rate throughout, its deeper meaning can be better appreciated from thereon, as the situation only gets more dire and out of hand. Alongside a permanent and penetrating oppressive ambiance throughout thanks to its uneasy sound and accompanying music, Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling’s concerning undertones become all the more apparent gradually, despite its pretty visuals. But its send-off is nothing short of lovely.

Horror? More like deep

With serious themes such as how stress is a killer touched upon and explored, the messaging towards the finale of Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling, regardless of the ending you stumble upon, is a reflective one that suggests the player should take better care of their health and mental state. We don’t deserve to burden ourselves by overworking or overworrying about external factors – we need breaks, and our peace of mind comes first before anything else.

With all that said, unlike Nikita Kryukov’s aforementioned “Milk” series, Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling ends on a more hopeful note. This may make it less impactful for some, but its positivity on the major themes it explores such as both time and performance anxiety is a reassuring send-off for the player considering its relatability.

All in all, this makes Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling a tame but approachable and welcoming first experience for gamers who are new to the psychological genre. It’s well worth checking out, regardless of your prior experience in said genre, for two main reasons: its core messaging is a friendly reminder that we should take better care of ourselves, and the developers deserve all the support and praise that they can get with this, their first commercial release.

So it goes without saying that you really should look into supporting them so that their full potential may one day be seen in a larger-scale game. With the sheer polish, originality and creativity presented here in barely 30 minutes or so, we have our fingers crossed that this is just the first of much more to come.

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Lilia Hellal

Visual novel enthusiast, otome lover, and wife of Hibari.

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