Horror allows its fans to dive into some pretty dark material. Video Games aren’t different in their ability to take fans on challenging journies. Indie publisher Katnappe and developer Genius Slackers have announced that first-person psychological horror, What Happened, will launch for PC via Steam this July 30th. In the game, players will step into the shoes of high-school student Stiles and try to guide him to the light, against the will of the demons that dominate his troubled mind. Only players’ empathy, and ability to read between the lines of his confused memories and drug-fuelled hallucinations, can turn Stiles from his self-destructive path.
To mark the release date announcement, the developers at Genius Slackers have released their first video dev diary. In it, game director Arash Negahban reveals the inspirations behind the story of What Happened, and what the team set out to achieve.
What Happened takes players through the looking glass into an American high-school crawling with bad memories and powerful visual hallucinations that Stiles must navigate. Along the uneasy journey, players will have puzzles to solve, demon hands to avoid, and mind-bending encounters in the constantly-morphing environments. Realized in Unreal Engine 4, What Happened promises to be a sensory treat and a testament to the small indie team’s desire to tell their story about suffering and hope in an unforgettable way.
