Downfall

Remigiusz Michalski’s new 2D horror adventure game, Downfall, is the latest AGS-based indie project to make it gloriously over to the retail market. The game, designed to attract those craving “…for an intellectual adventure that puts complex storyline and immersive dialogues before the polygon count”, and features “scenes of violence and gore, sexual content and strong language and it is suitable only for persons of 18 years and over”.

From the Harvester Games website:

“Quiet Haven Hotel was supposed to be just a one night shelter for Joe and Lucy Davis. But things soon start to go wrong. Lucy’s panic attacks get worse and soon she disappears. And in the morning hotel changes too. Nothing is what it seems anymore. Joe is left alone, trying to understand what is happening, trapped between reality and the nightmare.”

While the game is obviously another testament to Chris Jones’ fantastic adventure game platform, it’s also a delightful example of perseverance: Back in 2007, Downfall was a mere batch of relatively clumsy, gorey screenshots posted over at the AGS forums. In fact, an early demo version(!) is still available for download in case you’re the kind of person to obsess over a game’s entire production curve. Here is a comparison, of the “old” and “new” Downfall, to really drive home the amount of improvement that’s gone into the project:

At this juncture, the game looks fierce, and sports an interesting, aesthetically cohesive look and feel. The game will be sold, for the modest price tag of $9.99, at Direct2Drive.

Update:

A demo has been released for the game and is currently available on FilePlanet.