Tormentum felt in Indiegogo campaign for upcoming surreal adventure

Written by Jack Allin — June 2, 2014 at 15:28

A promise of torment and sorrow may not sound like a good time, but context is everything, as evidenced by OhNoo Studio's upcoming point-and-click-adventure, Tormentum: Dark Sorrow, currently raising funds through Indiegogo.

Tormentum casts players as the unnamed hero who awakens to find himself trapped in a cage being dragged by a zeppelin-like flying machine. His lone memory is a "faint vision of a hill with a sculpture... depicting a forest of human hands, raised towards the sky. If only he was able to find that place, then maybe his memory would return as well." In order to reach his destination, however, he'll first need to escape a castle imprisonment and traverse a dangerous world on the border of dreams and nightmares.

The amnesiac hero premise may be what the developers admit is a "seemingly hackneyed plot", but what sets Tormentum apart is its surreal setting. As seen in the early teaser and screenshots, the game's hand-painted 2D backgrounds are inspired by artists like Polish painter Zdzislaw Beksinski and the Swiss painter, H.R.Giger, with the goal of creating a "world full of darkness and depression." There will be three distinct lands to explore, each with its own architecture, weather, and creatures inhabiting it. Along with a variety of characters to interact with, who may either help or hinder your progress, and puzzles to solve to bypass different locks, traps, gates, and the like, Tormentum will also pose moral choices for players to make that will impact the outcome of the story.

In order to make this disturbing vision a reality for Windows, Mac, Linux, and iOS and Android devices by the end of this year, OhNoo has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, seeking $9,000 by August 1st. As a fixed funding campaign, the developers will receive the money only if the goal is fully met by the target date. A minimum $9 pledge will earn backers a DRM-free download of the game, which is projected to provide between 4-6 hours of gameplay.

To learn more about the game and contribute to the campaign, visit the Tormentum Indiegogo page for complete details.You can also vote for the game on Steam Greenlight.