There’s a Gun in the Office Review: Tense but Tightly Boxed

There’s a Gun in the Office is one of those games that sticks with you more for the mood it creates than for the gameplay it delivers. Played from a first-person perspective and set entirely within a single, dimly lit office suite, this indie puzzle-stealth game throws you into a slow-burn scenario of escalating paranoia and calculated decisions. Its atmosphere is sharp and its design deliberate. But as we discovered during our playthrough on Xbox, its rigid structure and sometimes frustrating time mechanics kept us at a cautious distance.

You play as a nameless person in a disturbingly quiet home where something feels off. The game unspools over five days, each one offering a slightly deeper glimpse into the mystery. You are tasked with exploring your surroundings without getting caught, locating clues, and then resetting everything, literally putting every object back in place, before the day ends. If you don’t, you’re found out and must try again.

On Xbox, controls are functional, and the game runs smoothly. But this is a mouse-and-keyboard sort of experience at heart, and the game’s insistence on precise object placement can feel a little clumsy with a controller. Picking up and rotating items works well enough, but when you’re racing against a tight time limit and trying to place a key back on its exact pixel-perfect ledge, the experience tips into frustration. Small usability tweaks could go a long way here.

The time mechanic is both a strength and a weakness. It gives the game tension and a sense of consequence. You’re always aware that every action, every drawer opened, every bin shifted, has to be undone before the clock runs out. That ticking clock can make even small discoveries feel thrilling. But it also forces you into a very specific rhythm. Rather than encouraging experimentation, the game subtly punishes it. There’s not much room for play when failure sends you back to the beginning of the day, again and again.

Where There’s a Gun in the Office shines is in its atmosphere. The sterile lighting and minimal sound design work together to create a thick cloud of dread. There are no jump scares, no overt horror. Instead, the game builds unease through familiarity. This could be your apartment, your bedroom, your kidnapped anxiety turned physical. When strange details start to surface, locked cabinets, intense security systems, flickering lights, it all feels personal.

Unfortunately, the linearity undercuts some of that tension. The game follows a set path, and once you figure out the correct sequence of events, it becomes more about executing a routine than solving a mystery. Puzzles are more about locating the right object and placing it somewhere than they are about logic or lateral thinking. If you’re hoping for multiple solutions or dynamic outcomes, you may find this too guided for your taste.

Still, credit where it’s due. The story, while simple, is told effectively through environmental clues and subtle changes to the space. As you inch closer to understanding what’s really happening, a sense of dread builds. The title becomes more than just provocative; it becomes literal and symbolic. There is a gun in the office, and how you choose to interact with it matters.

The game’s biggest issue might simply be that it leaves you wanting more, but not in the “I wish this lasted longer” sense. Rather, you wish it had been a little looser, a bit more open to interpretation or creative problem solving. It’s an intriguing concept wrapped in a slightly too-tight package.

There’s a Gun in the Office succeeds in creating tension and delivering a unique puzzle-box experience. But its strict time-based loop and narrow structure can leave players feeling boxed in. For fans of slow-burn psychological thrillers or minimalist escape-room mechanics, there’s value here. Just don’t expect much freedom in how you solve its mysteries.

RATING: 3.0 out of 5.

There’s a Gun in the Office is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.