As part of my research for my Nowhere, MI review, I found an interview between Dread XP and Feverdream Johnny that I used to get some more insight on Nowhere. While brainstorming some topics for me to write about, I remember that I had made a note to explore more about Dread XP, since they cover similar games that I end up stumbling on.
To my delight, I discovered that Dread XP actually develops and publishes games, and some of their articles covered titles that I’ve played on itch.io. Filled with inspiration and motivation, I dug deeper to see what games they’ve published and I’ve found a few titles that caught my attention. Of those titles, I found a text-based horror game, ‘[I] Doesn’t Exist’, developed by LUAL Games. You can play the demo on Steam for free.
[I] Doesn't Exist releases on September 12th, so luckily, you won't have too much longer to wait for the full version of the game.
A modern take on a nostalgic format
[I] Doesn’t Exist is a game that is reminiscent of games like Space Quest or King's Quest. The game is text-based, accompanied by some rather beautiful pixel art visuals. Text-based adventure games have always been a favorite of mine since I love reading. While there are several horror text-based games out there on the market, it’s really refreshing to see that some game devs love the format enough to still produce them in 2023.
Another nice little touch is the old-school CRT ‘filter’ that overlays the game like you are playing it on a Commodore. I’ve always been a sucker for art styles that give me nostalgia for a time that I was too young to enjoy, and I’m glad that modern-day artists continue to keep these memories of another time alive.
First impressions aside, let’s get into what it’s like to play [I] Doesn’t Exist.
Control with your words: a writer’s wet dream
[I] Doesn’t Exist starts with a nifty tutorial that teaches players how to interact with the game’s world with only text commands. I appreciated this, as it eases new players of the genre in, while still providing enough entertainment that veterans of text-based games can still get a kick out of.
To control your actions in-game, you enter a verb followed by a noun into a command line. For example, one of your inputs to pick something up would be: ‘pick up (item)’. What makes text-based games like this enticing, is that you’ll have to use your wits to progress through puzzles, while also being able to experiment as you please while you explore.
One thing about [I] Doesn’t Exist’s gameplay that I enjoyed is that there are a lot of animations and flavor-text combinations that you can discover; there’s a layer of light-hearted humor that gives you a sense of security and serenity. I found this to be important, as it helps the pacing of the horror of the game.
Nothing is as it seems in [I] Doesn’t Exist
After you complete the tutorial, you are dumped into the game's world. Not long after waking up in a dark cave, the character you play as reads a note, indicating that you need to grab a key out of a safe and unlock the door to leave.
What this note fails to acknowledge, is that the safe is embedded in what appears to be a giant pulsing heart. There are a few other examples of absurd scenarios that may have deeper meanings and representations to them.
This is what I really enjoyed about this demo, as exploring and solving puzzles not only helps you progress, it slowly adds more layers of depth to what’s really going on in the story. There is quite a bit going on in the background of things, which is shown through subtle foreshadowing.
One example of this is that you may occasionally trip on something in the environment while you are walking around. When this happens, the colorful overworld suddenly reverts to black and green colors, much like the menu screen, and a ‘glitch’ sound effect rings out.
The longer you play the game and learn more about what is going on, the more that you feel like something isn’t right at all. Solving the mystery and progressing the story is the high point of this genre and [I] Doesn’t Exist will leave you dying to know what happens next.
September 12th can’t come soon enough
While this demo only runs for about half an hour depending on your puzzle-solving skills, you’ll be left wanting so much more. I think the devs did an incredible job of showcasing the game in such a short period of time, while also giving the player enough context to decide if the game is worth purchasing when it releases.
[I] Doesn’t Exist scratches an itch that very few point-and-click or text-adventure games can reach. My experience with the demo left me very excited for the full release of the game, which will drop on September 12th. I’ll definitely be grabbing it and doing a full review, so stay tuned if you are still on the fence by the time I release it.
Make sure to check out Dread XP and follow their socials for updates on the game and to stay caught up on the latest spook-inducing games. They even have a Discord server, which I can proudly say that I’m now a member of!
Don't forget to show LUAL games some love by checking out their socials as well. This is their first project and I'll be able to break down more of [I] Doesn't Exist after I can sink my fangs into the full game.
If you tried out the demo and enjoyed it, consider signing up for email updates so you can stay up to date with any hidden gems that I find! I often review demos or games that catch my interest and I love to let players know if it’s worth their time to check out. There are thousands of games out there on the internet, and my goal is to help those games see the light and provide feedback to passionate developers.
Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you in the next review.
> [Wave] goodbye at [reader],
~Greysyns