When it comes right down to it, there are two great gaming genre loves in my life: horror and visual novels. A lot of other folks seem to dig them too, which is why we get super creepy visual novel releases every once in a while. The latest in this trend is The Miskatonic by Rapscallion Games which is currently seeking funding via Kickstarter. Unlike a lot of pure visual novels which showcase horror purely by dialogue and visuals, this one imparts some classic survival horror gameplay as well.
In The Miskatonic you play as Charlotte LeStrange, an odd faculty member of the University. She has some goals in mind, but basically you’re going to spend a lot of time trapezing around this eldritch school. Along with being inspired by horror titles such as Resident Evil it also has a good chunk of inspiration from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. You can definitely feel the disturbing vibe by simply checking out the character artwork. Some of these folks are more than just a little monstrous! In any case, along with visual novel-style conversations with everyone, you’ll also have to solve puzzles, collect keys, and all that other stuff you expect from retro horror games.
The Miskatonic campaign page offers a “pre-alpha campus tour demo” if you’d like to give the game a shot. For those who dig the game you can simply pledge toward their £11,000 (about $16,700) funding goal. They’re planning to release on Windows at launch with Mac and Linux versions coming later on. Oddly, they suggest 100% certainty for a Steam release despite not having a Greenlight page yet.
Track the progress of the Miskatanic Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.
Survival Horror and Visual Novels, not exactly two genres you would consider to be merge material.