Forgiveness bestowed on Steam

Written by Jack Allin — March 2, 2019 at 10:02

Judgment is coming for living a life of sin, and it doesn't even require God to deliver it – according to indie developer Noam Matam Rotam, at least, in his newly-released psychological horror puzzler Forgiveness.

Don't be fooled by its title: This game isn't primarily about forgiveness so much as penance. Players assume the first-person role of a blatant sinner who wakes up "in an unfamiliar room where the enigmatic Dr. Benjamin Smith has trapped you to test your worthiness to stand his judgment." Delusionally believing himself to be divine, Smith "wants to bring his own form of justice to the world." In order to prove yourself worthy of pardoning, you'll need to overcome challenging obstacles based on the seven deadly sins, which are determined by your answers to a personality test administered at the start of the game. 

Described by its solo Iraeli developer as a "mind-bending puzzle game in the 'escape room' style" with "psychological-horror vibes," Forgiveness is presented in free-roaming, first-person 3D and requires players to "explore the rich environments and examine every clue to solve the intricate puzzles." Unlike in most adventures, however, there are several different gameplay options. Story Mode is the standard format, while Free Play allows you to visit any of the rooms at will. And for those who want more challenge than the Normal difficulty, the Extreme mode allows only 30 minutes to escape each room. 

If you're not sure you're ready to be tried for your sins (figuratively speaking, we hope), you can sample Forgiveness first through the playable demo on Steam. There's plenty more where that came from, however, as the full game is also available now for Windows, Mac and Linux.