It seems like it’s shaping up to be the Summer of Surreal when it comes to gaming this season. We kicked things off with the bizarre religious journey that isIndika,moved onto twisted worlds and puzzles withLorelei and the Laser Eyesand now coming soon isCentum,a dark point-and-click adventure game from Serenity Forge and developers Hack the Publisher. And having experienced its first two chapters, it is indeed a fascinating game full of many surreal delights, especially for fans of the horror genre…which admittedly makes it tough to preview, since it’s one of those games where you’re told not to post any major spoilers, and yet everything encountered so far has been such a “you’ve got to see it to believe it” moment that it feels like posting almostanythingabout it is a spoiler, even if it’s something that’s available to see right now on the game’s storefronts. If anything, you’re able to consider that a bit of a recommendation right there.
The Horror of Windows 95
The basic setup ofCentumis that you start off as a prisoner in a cell, tasked with the goal of escaping. Actually, you start out with an old-school PC operating system, where you’re able to browse through some initial files with rather ominous messages written within them, with mock web browsers that allow you to decode secret messages that you can find, setting the stage here for a lot to be uncovered. The cell is accessed through a program in this operating system, but you can swap back to it when needed. It’s an interesting setup, and one that allows for some eye-catching pixel art, appropriate for evoking the era of classic point-and-click adventures.
Getting into the cell,Centumwastes no time in delivering the goods when it comes to creepy, surreal visuals. A multi-headed judge that demands answers from you. A rat trap that looks more like a bear trap, and a talking rat that looks more like a monstrosity. A device emitting weird music that looks like a mix of a Rubik’s Cube and a Lament Configuration. A creepy child visits you at midnight and offers to help you escape if you’re able to deliver something they want, but what is there to give them? Can you even give them anything? As you look around and experiment more, you also notice that the game seems toreallywant you to be interested in killing that rat somehow, either via the trap or a bottle of rat poison that suddenly appears, and you question more and more about how much of this is the game messing with you, what might be a decision that’s up to you and what you’ll be railroaded into doing.
Layers Upon Layers
Yes, it’s a delightful little mind screw that continues its twists, especially as you escape the cell only to wake up in an entirely different kind of cell, one more of your own design, complete with a computer that you may access, with its own faux operating system. Yes, an OS inside a program inside an OS inside of a game. And with more levels comes deeper puzzles, including fake video games with genre shifts needed to access documents, mazes of folders and a twisted bit with mirrors, all well-designed, and all happening why you try to communicate with someone and try to figure out just what the heck is going on inCentum.
To take one bit revealed so far, the story does involve an AI that becomes shaped by your actions, and whom you communicate with at some points, hence the computer interfaces. It’s captivating stuff, and there’s a challenge in going over each dialogue option, and noting certain approaches and allegories that may be the key to whether or not you get a benevolent AI or Skynet. It’s fascinating, though it does mean that we’ll have to wait for the full game to see the extent of the options, and what outcomes they can lead to.
Review: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Unhinged, unpredictable and unafraid to keep you guessing to the very end, in more ways than one, Simogo have gone and crafted their magnum opus.
If there are any drawbacks toCentum, it’s that the text-heavy narrative and enigmatic nature and themes means a lot of dense writing that heads into territory that feels like purple prose at times. Also, it may just be the early state, but either a few achievements are bugged or the game is deliberately trying to mess with players on that level as well.
It looks like there’s still quite a bit to recommend aboutCentum,though, from its twisted visuals and nifty puzzles to its bizarre worlds and a story that promises to make you question everything in the best way possible. But can the game stick the landing and have all of this surrealism lead a satisfying conclusion? We’ll see this summer whenCentumarrives for PC and Xbox Series X.
