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David Lynch-inspired game ‘Paratopic’ Messes with your Head
Fancy another gritty retro-inspired horror game? Paratopic, designed by indie developers Jess Harvey and Doc Burford, aka ParatopicTeam, is now available on itch.io in early form. Seemingly drawing inspiration from Twin Peaks, the game’s aesthetic has it feeling like a cross between a PlayStation first-person game, and the classic Alone In The Dark series. Coupled with a surrealist score by composer Chris Brown, this looks to scratch that retro itch for those David Lynch fans looking for a horror game to call their own.
While there’s not much to go on in terms of the game’s synopsis, here’s what the website has to say:
“A surreal, grainy fever dream into the evening. An assassin prepares for her kill, a man is strong armed into smuggling contraband VHS tapes over the border and young girl finds the rusted remnants of illicit industry deep in the forest…”
ICYMI, #PARATOPIC is released tomorrow!
A grimey, surreal journey from myself, @ForgetAmnesia & @Lazarus_Audio.
Sign up to our launch notification mailing list & get a free track from Chris' *gorgeous* Unreal-tinged soundtrack:https://t.co/0yDwPmkQGZ pic.twitter.com/pdnYj5r1i3
— jess (@oysterFAKE) March 11, 2018
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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