The Demons Told Me to Make This Game / Haunted Dude
On July 21, Haunted Dude studio released the first episode of their narrative RPG, which they call Ukrainian Disco Elysium
The game is called The Demons Told Me to Make This Game. In it, the player takes on the role of a disembodied spirit rather than the characters directly. Instead of controlling teenagers, you have to whisper thoughts to a group of young exorcists. The children are trying to save the town of Red Gables, where a demonic invasion has begun, and you are the only one who can tell them what to do. However, it is not a fact that they will listen to you.
The Demons Told Me to Make This Game is about influence, choice, and consequences. The gameplay is built around time loops: events repeat until you find the right sequence of decisions. According to the authors, this allows players to explore alternative solutions and gradually find a way in which (almost) everyone will survive. Plus, characters and events are revealed gradually, even through wrong decisions.
«Very often, you can get an achievement for a special way to die. We actively use Steam achievements to encourage players to explore the timelines. We will have 100 achievements at the release! Actually, we put about 120 in the game, but Steam sets a limit of 100 for new games, so a couple of dozen will remain inactive until Steam removes the» limit», — says studio founder Alexander Chezganov in an interview with Dou.
The main feature of «Demons» — you don’t press buttons for the characters, but influence their internal monologues, weaknesses, and decisions through dialogues and mini-games. Some of the characters are volatile and afraid of failure, while others are narcissistic and eager for recognition — the player’s task is to choose the right words at the right time.
The setting is also unlike typical role-playing games: the small American town of Red Gables is a place where demons are not the worst thing. Under the layer of demonic invasion, there are traumas, secrets, dangerous characters, and constant tension. The authors call the game a mixture of horror and absurd comedy, and the — «style is as if Lovecraft wrote a script for a black comedy».
The game is available for early access Steam and already has approximately 8 hours of content — with two time loops. The final version will include five full episodes, of which the first one is already available. The developers plan to complete the game by 2027.
The Demons Told Me to Make This Game costs ₴,269 but is currently on sale with a -13% discount (₴234). Currently, the game is available only in English, but the Ukrainian localization is promised to be added by the end of the year.
Gameplay of the Ukrainian Disco Elysium, but available in English
The game is being developed by Haunted Dude, a Kyiv-based studio specializing in narrative adventures. Nine people are working on «Demons»: three developers, three artists, a UI/UX designer (who also serves as Technical PM and creates animations and visual effects), a narrative designer, and the studio’s founder, Oleksandr Chezganovyi.
We remind you that another Ukrainian studio Hologryph announced its SAND shooter about «Galicians in space» on consoles. Even earlier, the Ukrainian Forest Reigns received an 8-minute trailer showing Paris after the apocalypse and three game styles.
Source: Haunted Dude press release
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