IMMURE | Indie Pearls

Scary, puzzling, and dripping with paranoia and fear, rolls out IMMURE, a yet-to-be-released psychological horror 2.5D scroller game by Wither Studios. I tend to stay away from this particular spooky genre, but I couldn’t help but be hooked when looking through the game’s trailer and demo.

The Story of IMMURE

When looking up the word, I found that immure is defined as ‘the act of enclosing or confining someone against their will’. The fact is both funny and tragic, seeing as the main character’s name is Will and as we soon find out by playing, he becomes trapped within the confines of a mansion, with seemingly no one there, except for the presence of bestial creatures and the power to control a shining crystal called the Trapezohedron. The narrative is set up in multiple chapters. Along the way you encounter wraiths, remnants of the long departed, and it’s up to Will on how he deals with them: destroy them or save them. Depending on all that, the game sets itself up with multiple endings and paths to take. One thing is certain, and it’s that Immure comes with great replayability.

Controls and overall game design

The inventory design is what struck me first that this game would be an enjoyable, intuitive experience. The interface is organic and reminiscent to the Resident Evil games. It has blocks to stack your weapons and items in, so nothing too complicated. This goes hand in hand with the controls, which I’ll admit pleasantly surprised me. It’s not a point-and-click style that’s usually tied with this genre. Instead we have full use of the keyboard. Even a delightful sprint feature that just adds to the tension. The art of this game is something you can tell the makers have been pouring their effort into. It’s blended 2D and 3D style with dynamic shadows and lighting that just can’t help but look extremely magical amidst the gloom and eerie darkness of the rest of the world.