Horror adventure Anna gets Extended Edition makeover

Written by Jack Allin — April 14, 2013 at 11:53

It's generally a bad idea to tell a woman she's too short, easy, ugly or high maintenance, but the indie developers of Anna listened to the complaints of fans, and have given the free-roaming 3D horror adventure an "Extended Edition" makeover that promises "a completely new interface, new puzzles, new environments"... and death.

Based on authentic folklore, Anna sends players alone into an abandoned real-world sawmill in the Italian Alps. The unnamed protagonist has been having dreams of an old acquaintance named Anna, as is compelled to visit this remote scenic location to understand why. What he discovers upon his arrival, however, is that the area is haunted, and as you "uncover horrific clues and use them to solve puzzles related to your character’s dark past", your actions will not only "determine the mental health of the main character but can also change locations and unveil new secrets leading to one of eight possible endings."

The updated version of Anna will include significant upgrades including new and improved puzzles; a fresh set of environments to go with revamped original locations; graphical enahncements adding new effects, textures, and shaders; a completely reworked interface designed to be more user-friendly; extended soundtrack; a protagonist diary; and an "Intuition" system that lets players collect and combine clues. In what is sure to be a controversial move among adventure gamers, the previously scary-but-never-truly-threatening terrors in Anna have now become a very real danger, as you can die in the new version of the game.

Available now at a wide variety of digital distributors, those who have already purchased Anna should be able to download the new version of the game free of charge. A boxed version of the Extended Edition is also available now in the UK, published by Kalypso Media.