Enola demo offers lonely glimpse into new horror adventure

Written by Jack Allin — July 3, 2012 at 11:38

If you like lonley first-person horror adventures, then brace yourself for the solitude of a new indie game out of El Salvador called Enola.

In Enola ("alone" spelled backwards), players assume control of "an unnamed character (maybe a person?) on a desolate island, without any knowledge of who you are and what you're doing there." In a story about "fear, isolation and murder", you'll soon discover that there is "something dark and evil on this island." As you explore, you must solve puzzles and seek clues about a series of murders to discover who the killer is, hopefully reclaiming your lost identity in the process.

As the game's work-in-progress tech video indicates, Enola is a free-roaming, real-time 3D game controlled by a standard keyboard/mouse combination.  According to the developers, the game is all "puzzle solving, death traps, and unnerving situations. Enola is not the kind of game that features scary monsters, because it focuses on a kind of fear that explores human nature."  The death traps are not action sequences, but rather puzzles with life-and-death consequences.

For an early looks at Enola in action, a playable demo is already available from the official website.  This is strictly an "alpha" demo and not reflective of the finished game (there are very few sound effects in place, for example), but it does provide a glimpse of the island and a church you'll need to gain entrance to.

Unlike many indie projects these days, Enola does not have a fundraising campaign per se, but the game is available for pre-order now to help finance the project through to completion.  Those who order early get the game for $9.99 instead of the launch price of $14.99, and will have instant access to each new updated build as the game progresses.  Orders can be place at Indievania and a few other participating retailers listed at the game's website.

There is no firm release date for Enola available just yet, but the game is currently scheduled for a DRM-free launch in the first quarter of 2013.