I love a good adventure game, but I’m even more into ones with a unique twist. Whether it’s in the story, artwork, or gameplay I’m always on the lookout for something new. While Asylopole doesn’t completely break the mold, there’s certainly enough there to capture my attention. The dystopian future setting caught my eye, but it’s what’s offered in the experience that had me back this one.
Brain Dive
At its core, Asylopole is a point and click adventure game where you play as a psychologist as he delves into the minds of asylum patients. Using an interesting form of hypnosis, it’s your job to literally enter their heads and try to cure them of their illnesses. Just that information alone was enough to make me jump in head first, but there’s more.
Each mind you delve into has its own rules and style. After all, the brain is a curious thing and can be surreal even for a sane person. In Asylopole, life is a daily struggle. What I love best about this is the uniqueness of each “world”. From what I could gather, the style of art in each one is different. One world could be completely hand drawn art while another is stop-motion claymation. In addition, it looks like traditional physics are thrown out the window, too.
There is a demo to try out if you want to get a feel before taking the plunge. However, the video alone is worth watching even if you don’t pledge. The use of claymation shows they can pull that part off, while the humor adds that something special. They’re only asking for around €20,000, so it’s reachable. I really do hope they make it as this is one adventure I really want to play.
