A ruined and rotting world, ruled by absent and cruel gods where grief and faith force an introspective faith is both a great metaphor for everyday life and the setting of upcoming dark fantasy adventure Asthenia.
I love a game that wears its heart on its sleeve. Media literacy is not what it once was across all mediums, and so being able to visceral feel the airs of loss and sadness in the setting of a game is something special.
Image Credit: Matthaios Lappas
A first-person dive into the oppressive decay-filled world, Asthenia is a multi-branched action adventure game that dives into dark places and brings back real weight.
Solo developer Manthos Lappas is unapologetic about the roots of his game: “Asthenia was born from a deeply personal place.”
The developer further elaborated on his aim for the title:
“I wanted to create a world that feels oppressive, mysterious, and alive -where discovery is earned, not handed to the player, and where every action carries real weight.”
As a result, you get Souls-like challenge in a more emotionally-charged package. The game reportedly draws inspiration from Resident Evil 7, Silent Hill, and Outlast, but we also felt it had a kind of tonal link to the Senua’s Saga games, drawing inspiration from Greek mythology rather than Celtic and Norse mythology for its setting.
Image Credit: Matthaios Lappas
Can I admit something? I’m a sucker for games that go a little art-house in their presentation and actually have something to say. Using ruined cities and crumbled buildings to convey an actual tone rather than just set dressing and broaching more emotional topics is something I really appreciate. What are those topics? The trailer and initial write up do a good job of obscuring them. But a glance at the Mature Content Description in the Steam page gives clarification:
“Our game does not contain any explicit sexual acts or scenes. However, it does touch on sensitive topics, including miscarriage, corpses, grotesque creatures, disturbing scenes, and sensitive psychological themes such as depression, anxiety, and theological concepts. Please be aware of these elements while playing the game.”
These are heavy topics. It’s not an easy task to deal with and present those levels of loss and emotion in a genuine way in any media, and other attempts have failed or struggled. The medium of first-person hack-and-slash is a bold choice to address them, and some players are going to be put off just by their inclusion.
Still, Asthenia is a personal project, in the very sense of the term. A solo dev putting his soul into something. And if you’re like me, you can’t help but want to try and get on board with that.
You can watch the full trailer on YouTube now, which dives into the setting and tone of Asthenia.
Asthenia – Official Announcement Trailer
A full playable demo is coming later this year, and to support the title if you think it’s for you, wishlist the game on its Steam page.
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Featured Image Credit: Manthos Lappas
Hello Michael! I am Manthos, the creator of ASTHENIA! I wanted to thank you so much for this beautiful and insightful article and thoughts on my upcoming game! I enjoyed it so much! I am looking forward to sharing the demo with you all so that you can experience a glimpse of this story and world! I sincerely appreciate the support and feature!! :)
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