First details rise up for Asylopole
If you think the world is hard to wrap your head around now, just wait until you try it in the dystopian future of Asylopole, an upcoming adventure from indie French developer Mickaël Pixoala.
Described as a "satirical old-school adventure", Asylopole stars Adam Murdock, a "psychiatrist working in a gigantic asylum." As you guide Adam in delving into his patients' psyches to determine what's wrong with them, the process becomes a literal one as you "experience totally new universes and fight your patients' worst nightmares."
With its 2D hand-drawn graphics and the promise of non-linear exploration and puzzles to solve, in many ways Asylopole does indeed rememble the classic adventures from the '90s that inspired it, like Blade Runner and Sanitarium. And yet Pixoala has quite a few non-traditional tricks up his sleeve as well, including keyboard/gamepad controls, an in-game network called the Ultranet, minigames, optional side quests, combat, and experience points. (Plus lots of artery-clogging burgers to eat.)
For the more aggressively-inclined player, completing side quests will help raise stats such as health, strength, and stamina to prepare you for violent encounters, though the more pacifistic gamer can rest assured that fighting can be minimized with a friendlier approach to dialogue. If you do find yourself caught up in an unwanted battle, the option to skip it will be provided after a few attempts. If even that's too much, there will be an "adventure only" setting to remove combat from the game altogether.
Largely a solo creation from Pixoala, Asylopole is going to need a little help to be completed, which is why the developer is planning a Kickstarter campaign for the game in the foreseeable future. However, if all goes according to plan, we could see the completed game on PC as early as the end of next year.
Game information
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