Video Games
Horror Text Adventure ‘[I] doesn’t exist’ Gets an Updated October 5th Release [Trailer]
After experiencing a few hiccups with its original September release date, DreadXP and developer LUAL Games have announced that their throwback horror text adventure [I] doesn’t exist will finally see its release on Steam next week! The love letter to the origins of narrative-focused gaming will arrive October 5th for PC via Steam and itch.io.
In [I] doesn’t exist, players awaken in an unfamiliar forest populated with illogical scenery and oddities like friendly, talking mushrooms. As they command their in-game avatar and contemplate the solution to puzzles (and the meaning of their own existence) to escape the seemingly innocuous forest, the façade begins to show its cracks to reveal something far more sinister.
The game utilizes a combination of 2D and 3D perspective through optical illusion, giving players a “trippy, dreamlike experience.” [I] doesn’t exist’s trance-like visuals and text-based narrative design is supported by modern “Natural Language Processing” technology — which allows players to creatively answer in-game prompts without sticking to a set of specific terms, makes for an eerily intuitive gameplay experience that’s accessible to newcomers to text-based adventures and veterans alike.
While you wait, check out Harrison’s take on the game, which he refers to as being more than what it initially appears.
Black Tabby Games has dropped a little update on the progress for Scarlet Hollow, announcing that writing work on their planned expansion to the game’s first five episodes has finished, with the team pivoting to the art. Testing for the update is set to begin in “about a couple of weeks,” though if you’re a Patreon member, you can get early access to it.
The update adds around 70,000 words of new and remastered content, with most of it expanding some of the shorter sections. The update also tweaks certain aspects of gameplay, as well as adding more dialogue (obviously) between characters, and even revamps one of the endings to the fifth episode.
The team also confirmed that writing for Episode 6 is well underway, though no release date has been announced.
Currently in Early Access on Steam, Scarlet Hollow is an immersive horror-mystery with sharp writing, impactful choices, and meticulously hand-drawn art. What was supposed to be a quiet getaway in the rural mountains of North Carolina to meet your long-lost cousin and comfort her through her mother’s funeral, has turned into a nightmare of cryptids and other supernatural horrors. You only have to survive a week. But can you get to the bottom of these mysteries haunting Scarlet Hollow before they claim your life?
If you’re keen on learning more about the game, check out Aaron’s review of the first five chapters.