The Initiate sequel now being conducted on Early Access

Written by Jack Allin — June 26, 2018 at 11:44

Last year, Deceptive Games immersed players in a house full of traps and puzzles in The Initiate. But that wasn't the end of the trials, as now the indie developer has released a sequel called The First Interviews on Steam Early Access.

Whereas the first game saw players control only one character, the new game stars three different protagonists, including "Samantha Blake – a distraught mother from the loss of her child during complex surgery, Benjamin Clarke – an alcoholic whose life was turned upside down with the death of his wife in a horrific car accident, and Stephen Parfitt – college professor and author, whose interest in life is declining with an ever changing world." Despite their vastly different backgrounds, all three are faced with the same dire situation when they awaken in adjacent cells with little memory of how they got there. The stakes ramp up even more significantly when "a voice bellows from a wall speaker. 'Welcome to your trial – Your goal is simple, escape or die'."

Like its predecessor, the occult-themed First Interviews promises to be a "story driven escape the room puzzle game with many unique puzzles and challenges that will ask the player to think logically, and carefully." With the freedom to roam in first-person 3D, this time around the three strangers will be "forced to work together to survive their sadistic captors, each one searching for answers, redemption and the peace of mind that they so desire." Even successfully completing your trial is not the end of the adventure, however, as the "next stage" comes in the form of an alternate reality puzzle challenge extending beyond the game itself.

The Initiate 2: The First Interviews is available now on Steam Early Access for PC. Describing the game's current state as "completely playable" already, the developer's goal is to add another 20% content and finish polishing for full and final release in the next two months for Windows, Mac, PS4 and Xbox One.