Take Care Of It

The game follows two college-aged childhood friends, Riley (the protagonist) and Austin. They had a highly turbulent, unhealthy friendship in high school, but things finally stabilized once they got to college. This peace is shattered during a trip to the woods when they are ambushed by a brutal bear attack. Riley escapes largely unharmed, but Austin is severely mauled. Austin survives the initial injuries but is left heavily bandaged, physically weak, and temporarily disabled. Consumed by crushing survivor's guilt, Riley promises Austin that he will do whatever it takes to nurse him back to health—promising to "take care of it."

Phase 2: The Co-Dependent Apartment Life

Austin moves into Riley’s apartment. The gameplay structure loop divides your time between working a coffee shop minigame to pay rent and returning to the apartment to cater to Austin's demands. Austin quickly realizes the power his injuries and Riley's guilt give him. He begins emotionally abusing, isolating, and manipulating Riley, dropping constant passive-aggressive hints that Riley "owes him" for what happened in the woods.

Phase 3: The Descent into the Uncanny

The horror elements escalate exponentially when Austin's requests turn bizarre. He complains that normal, cooked food turns his stomach and demands that Riley bring him raw groceries and raw, bloody meat. As the days progress, a horrifying metaphor manifests. Austin begins exhibiting signs of a "parasite/puppet" dynamic (highly reminiscent of a Leucochloridium green-banded broodsac snail parasite, which takes over its host's mind and body). Austin stops acting entirely human, his behavior devolving into a primal, disturbing craving for blood, flesh, and total dominance over Riley.

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The game opens on a normal college parking lot right before spring break. You(Riley) were leaning against his car, waiting on Austin, who is 15 minutes late. When Austin finally arrives, he jokes around and shows you his corrected exam grade. They plan to head out, but your car—a '69 Mustang—fails to start. To fix it, you tapped the starter motor. You needed a tool and finds a strange, sheathed decorative knife with a polished wooden handle on the ground. After using it to get the car running, Austin spots the knife, notices it is a "Hutton brand," and pockets it into his backpack.

As they drive out, you end up taking a wrong left turn out of the parking lot, accidentally steering them down an unfamiliar route that leads them away from their destination and deep into a remote, isolated forest area. Disaster strikes when they are suddenly ambushed by a brutal bear attack. In the chaotic frenzy, you manage to escape major physical harm, but Austin is savagely mauled by the beast. The attack ends when Austin is left heavily mutilated, bloody, and unconscious.

Following the terrifying attack, Austin goes missing in the deep woods. You ended up spiraling into a state of panic, gripped by an overwhelming wave of survivor's guilt. You spend agonizing, frantic hours searching through the dark forest, calling out for your friend. You even skipped your job and leaves behind your normal life entirely just to drive up and down the local back roads, looking for any trace of him. Eventually, after a desperate and grueling search, you find Austin clinging to life. Though Austin survives the initial mauling, he is permanently changed—his eyes look hollow, his body is covered in heavy medical gauze, and his mind is completely warped by the trauma, setting the stage for the dark, manipulative relationship that follows.