Retain your sanity in this Lovecraftian horror
ASYLUM is a premium supernatural horror game from Senscape. In this maddening adventure, you are thrown into a large, decaying asylum where you witness horrific experiments and incidents happening across its halls. You try to uncover the secrets of the towering building and more importantly, you try to stay alive.
More than its atmospheric horror setting, ASYLUM has an impressive story offering. Its brand of suspense is quite similar to games like Summer of ‘58 or Layers of Fear, although with better graphics and an even better and longer playthrough.
Welcome to Hanwell
You are sent to Hanwell Mental Institute in ASYLUM, an unbelievably large yet decrepit institute. In this horror game, the lights are flickering, the walls are stained, and the beds are in disarray. This, however, is only one element of the game's impressive environmental horror. Without warning, you will run into disturbing imagery that might not be suitable for minors or certain audiences.
Another feature that sets this apart from other games is its puzzle design. The developers put a lot of thought into each one, taking a separate direction from the usual math or pixel-hunting type of puzzles. Its music also doesn’t help you. Aside from its masterful sound effects, its music for certain scenes only drives the horror of the game even deeper.
Lastly, it also manages to deliver a story that’s larger than your collective experiences within Hanwell. Through its shocking ending, you’ll feel and understand what it means to face something not of this world—a truly Lovecraftian narrative. The only drawback of this game, ten years in the making, is that its cartoonish character design somehow kills the realistic fear this game offers.
What to expect next for ASYLUM?
Gameplay-wise, this horror adventure thrives on exploration and puzzle-solving, offering around ten hours of content. The puzzles are clever and rewarding, encouraging careful observation rather than brute-force trial and error. While some moments may feel slow-paced, the deliberate pacing is part of the experience, immersing players in its nightmarish world. The diegetic interface keeps distractions minimal, further enhancing the eerie realism.
Moreover, the journey of this horror game is far from over. A special bundle for the game is in the works, offering fans an exclusive Art Book showcasing its early development stage, a Soundtrack with unique variations, and A Tour of Hanwell documentary, chronicling the game’s long creation process. Current customers will receive discounts, and even more thrilling adventures await before the story finally returns to reality. Although all of these are yet to be offered on the game’s next update.
A truly believable, horrible world
The detail that goes into designing ASYLUM alone is enough to make you play it throughout. Its environment is incredibly graphic it’s scary on its own, and the same can be said of its use of audio. The only break you’ll have is in its dated, cartoonish character design that reminds you that it’s all just a game. Still, this game remains highly recommended, and for all the right reasons.
