| Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. |
House of the Wretched is a mini-game playable in “Strange Neighbors”.
In-universe, it’s a game for the Gear Boy on a mysterious unlabeled cartridge that Sal Fisher found in the basement lost and found. It is activatable in the 504 bathroom. Beating the game unlocks the “House of the Wretched” achievement.
Gameplay
A side-scrolling walking simulator in the classic Game Boy 2-bit green colour scheme.
Plot
The game itself depicts the carnage brought about by Luke Holmes after surrendering himself to the Red-Eyed Demon. The game follows the Skeleton, which belongs to Luke's daughter, Megan, who has risen from her grave, driven by a restless desire to find answers behind her death.
In Level 1 ("The Graveyard"), The Skeleton visits the tombstones of all of her family members-- even her disgraced father, included there only for legal purposes-- in Neveroak Cemetery, and reflects on the relationships she shared with them in life before they each passed away.
Level 2 ("The Courtyard") and Level 3 ("The House") detail Megan's childhood home. It is notably not one of the apartments.
Luke Holmes' study is the focus of Level 4 ("His Study"), which initially reveals his knowledge of his wife's infidelity.
The Skeleton begins to remember her life and death in Level 5 ("Her Room") and thus reassumes her identity as Megan. She enters room 504, sees her own corpse in the bathtub, her mother's body laying in her bed, and her father's close by, alongside a suicide note.
After completing the game, the true ghost of Megan seems to have remembered the events it chronicles.
How to unlock
In order to unlock the mini-game, the player must follow these steps:
- During the dream sequence at the beginning of the episode, look out for four numbers:
- The first number is on the key found in the hospital room.
- The second number can be found at the end of the hallway after going through the D door.
- The third number is in the tree above the dog during the funeral scene.
- The final number can be found near the lower-left corner after entering the grave.
- Enter the code into the number pad. This will unlock the batteries.
- Get the Gear Boy from Sal’s room, then go to the kitchen and retrieve the batteries from the bags on the counter.
- Get the Keycard from Lisa to to the basement and retrieve the Gear Boy game from the Lost and Found box.
- After exploring the apartments for a while, go back to Sal’s apartment and go to Henry’s room. Get the quarter on the floor next to Henry’s feet.
- After breaking into Room 403, talk to Larry and ask him if the building is haunted. This will prompt Larry to mention someone named Chug (who is the person who can be seen eating off-screen on the third floor).
- Go to the third floor. The sign will be gone, allowing the player to proceed down the hallway and talk to Chug, who will give you the key to Room 504 in exchange for the quarter.
- Go to Room 504 and unlock the bathroom. There, Megan Holmes will appear.
- Once the conversation with Megan ends, exit the bathroom and talk to Chug.
- Return to the bathroom and the Gear Boy icon will appear at the top of the screen, indicating that the game is now playable.
Trivia
- Human remains are described to be among the ashes in the fire pit in the courtyard. It is unknown who these remains belong to, but there is a possibility they belong to Greg Montague.
- Among the tombstones, and while observing the bench in the courtyard, Megan mentions her unnamed sister. As she is only mentioned in this minigame, it can be assumed that she died sometime before the rest of her immediate family, but recently enough for Megan to retain memories of her.
- Unlike other minigames, it cannot be played again after finishing the game.