The Epsilon Outcome comes out on Steam

Written by Jack Allin — January 28, 2021 at 10:17

If you ever stumble upon an underground scientific outpost in the middle of nowhere, you can be sure that it's hiding a LOT of secrets. Case in point – albeit a purely fictional one – is the setting of solo developer Ken Perrine's recently released point-and-click adventure, The Epsilon Outcome.

Players control a young man whose hike through the forest leads him to a "large, peculiar metal cylinder in the middle of a murky marsh." For reasons you can't quite put your finger on, the structure seems familiar to you, and with its "slimy, rusty ladder rungs" beckoning you to take a closer look, "somehow you are sure that you need to find a way to get across the marsh and investigate what's down below." As you do so, you'll encounter "old crusty machines, tunnel entrances, a radio shack, and a handful of strangers," all of which suggest that "something has been amok for a long time that's bigger than anyone can guess."

Described as a "dry humored ... adventure game of timeless proportions," The Epsilon Outcome is presented in hand-drawn 8-bit graphics comprising nearly 40 scenes in total, accompanied by 14 original musical tracks. You'll navigate this story of "extraterrestrial activity, amnesia, disappearances, [and] strange men in gray hazmat suits" with a "simplified Sierra-style interface." Along the way, you'll need to converse with all those you meet and solve a variety of puzzles if you're to "solve the mystery of why a major science experiment went wrong." While there's no in-game hint system, the developer has provided an online help guide should you find yourself stuck. 

If you're game for a little X-File-style adventuring, you can get started right away as The Epsilon Outcome is available now on Steam for Windows PC.