I grew up during a time when access to media was limited by curation that was outside my control. While it was sometimes frustrating to have my options be cut short by television programming and whatever movies and games I could find at the local video store, this environment meant that I became more willing to step out of my comfort zone in order to try new things that didn’t necessarily cater to my existing interests, or whatever an algorithm thinks I’ll enjoy.
I bring this up because I’ve never been a fan of visual novels. The format has always confounded me, and even the ones that I like, such as the Danganronpa games, still feel to me like they would have been better if presented in another format. That’s why I was initially hesitant to try out Grimtaste Studio’s RUNT, a post-apocalyptic horror story presented as a refreshingly bizarre visual novel. However, the title’s grim aesthetics eventually convinced me to swallow my pride and give this new release a try.
You know what? I’m glad that I did! RUNT may not be a perfect interactive horror experience – it even suffers from many of the same common pitfalls that have previously turned me away from the genre – but there’s so much passion behind this dark and strange loop of small-town scares that I don’t think could be expressed better in any other medium.
In the game, players take on the role of the titular Runt, the youngest member of the fundamentalist Strayer family. Led by the unstable brute Hunter, this deeply troubled group of orphaned brothers has become the de facto protectors of the town of Skipclaw after the fall of civilization. Taking place in a world shrouded in perpetual darkness where everyone has to wear a mask in order to ward off eldritch abominations, the game, or rather, Hunter, forces you to investigate a message that was left on the family’s property, with the makeshift collection of rotting animal parts spelling out that the Strayers have “5 days” left before something catastrophic happens.
In gameplay terms, this means living out five in-game days as the family’s favorite whipping boy and going about daily chores (which sometimes involve quirky mini-games). Meanwhile, you’ll also speak to locals and gather clues about who might be messing with the Strayers and what exactly will happen once the five days are up. Like most visual novels, the interactive bits of the experience are light on mechanical complexity, with esoteric puzzles and timed hidden object challenges making up the bulk of the non-narrative challenge here.
There are actually many elements in RUNT that feel like they were lifted straight from the minimalist Flash Games of yesteryear. From the town map and accompanying time management that reminds me a lot of Con Artist Games’ original The Last Stand trilogy to the brief point-and-click shootouts that harken back to free-to-play horror classics from Newgrounds, you can tell that Grimtaste built the foundation of this interactive experience on casual mechanics that could seamlessly blend into the traditionally passive thrills of a standard visual novel.
Not only that, but the title’s meticulously crafted presentation manages to elevate all of these elements into a highly atmospheric ordeal that transcends the limits of a text-heavy format. Hand-crafted backdrops with diegetic menu designs, like how you literally open your bag in order to check your inventory and how the journal is all scribbled over with realistic notes, make you feel like you’re really stepping into Runt’s ill-fated shoes – especially when certain actions allow you to alter his personality in strange and often unexpected ways. There’s also an eerie degree of uncanny-ness to the designs here, as the environments feel believable while still benefiting from a distinct dream-like quality due to the unnatural lighting and digital cut-out assets.
That being said, it’s the deeply compelling story that really elevates the experience into something you probably haven’t seen before in this type of game. Nearly every single character here is written to have a rich inner life, with even the traumatized main cast benefiting from grounded psychology despite existing in such a hellish world. I found myself frequently recoiling in terror whenever Hunter entered one of his aggressive moods, and don’t even get me started on how much I wanted Carver to be the culprit just so someone could beat the shit out of the least likable brother of the bunch.
Looking back on it now, the most disturbing moments of RUNT had more to do with the brothers’ horrific childhood at the hands of their radicalist cult leader father than any of the supernatural terror. Although, even then, the writers make a point of showing that even the most monstrous people still have a tragic degree of humanity underneath all that darkness.
You’ll almost inevitably end up feeling guilty no matter who you accuse as your main suspect once the five days are up, with the title’s multiple endings providing only just enough closure to make it feel like your investigation was worthwhile even if you didn’t get all the answers.
This actually leads to my main criticism of the game, as it’s unlikely that you’ll uncover the real secret going on behind the scenes in Skipclaw during your first playthrough. You see, the title is actually built to facilitate multiple runs as you redistribute time differently and attempt to get different answers out of the townsfolk in order to achieve a new conclusion.
While I’m all for adding replay value to the game, I would have preferred it if a single run could still offer a more robust finale, especially since I’m pretty sure that the game locked me out of certain options just because I spoke to different characters in an order that the developers weren’t anticipating. That being said, the rest of the game is so solid that I don’t really mind repeating certain sections in order to get new results. The added framing of having Runt remember all this from rereading his journal in the future also helps to make the looping narrative a natural part of the experience.
That’s why I’d recommend RUNT to fans of psychological horror and post-apocalyptic fiction everywhere, as the title’s excellent writing and memorable worldbuilding make it stand apart from its visual novel peers. The repetition required to get a “true” ending may bother some folks, but I still think it’s worth engaging with this unique horror yarn even if you don’t plan on uncovering every single secret that haunts the Strayer family.
Review code provided by publisher. RUNT launches August 10 on PC via Steam.
