Meet Asylum, A Unique Indie Horror Adventure From Senscape

Asylum is a game that was very recently approved on Steam Greenlight, and that’s exactly how I came to know about it. The game immediately attracted my attention partly because my sanity is long gone, and also because it’s a psychological horror adventure that has been in development by Senscape for over four years now. To put that in perspective, the teaser trailer above is from 2010.

However, what’s admirable about the project is just how ambitious the developers, Senscape, are with it. Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, Asylum is a large project that aims to blend high quality visuals with thrilling storytelling to give players the “ultimate experience in fear”. Sign me up.

Quite a while ago, back in 2012, the developers released a very short, interactive teaser for the project, that you can download on the game’s official website if you’re interested.

After having just played it, I have to say that I’m really impressed by the amazing visuals, great voice acting and interesting world and design. The gameplay is also pretty unique, as it attempts to achieve a balance between old school and modern style. You play the game entirely with your mouse. You can’t freely move, but rather advance through sections of the environment with the left click, and of course interact with objects with the same button. You can look in any direction freely by moving the mouse to the edges of your screen. Right click brings up your journal, which naturally stores notes and objectives. The game’s main strength is in its immersion, and it does extremely well here.

While the teaser didn’t give me a whole lot to go on, as it’s just a teaser, it did make me very enthusiastic to see more of the project. The full game boasts a mature and disturbing horror storyline that will “haunt you for years to come”, high definition graphics, one of the largest virtual buildings ever created for a game with around one hundred rooms to explore, and somewhere around 15 hours of estimated gameplay time. You can find out more about the game by reading the extensive FAQ section.

I got in contact with the developers, Senscape, and they’re quite a cheery and enthusiastic bunch, which was great for me to see. I learned that the estimated release date for the game is October 31, 2013, which granted is a very long time from now, but the developers will try to share some new gameplay hopefully soon, and then if all goes smoothly we can get a full preview of the game out.

The release date is subject to a Kickstarter Campaign that will be launched soon, and hopefully Senscape gets the support I feel it deserves. I’m sure they will, as the game is getting really popular, and the developers are a great bunch of people. Best of luck with the rest of development, I’d say.