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3 weeks ago
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If keeping just yourself alive in the Alaskan wilderness sounds tough, try having to keep several people alive all while fending off psychosis and Lovecraftian monsters. Sounds like a handful, right? That’s the kind of high pressure situation horror survival game Edge of Sanity throws at you, and it’s just had its release date locked in.
Edge of Sanity is a side-scrolling, 2D adventure with a hand-drawn art style. That really doesn’t scream ‘survival horror game’ all that loudly, does it? Well, dig deeper, and you’ll find that’s exactly what it is. You’re goal is to negotiate the cold, isolated wilderness of Alaska and search for fellow survivors – you invite them to join your camp and you commit to protect them. While there is often strength in numbers, be warned – as your camp increases in size, so too does the demand for food, water, and morale.
You can assign survivors to expeditions to hunt for resources, or get them to build stations that will make it easier to keep up with the needs of your camp. It’s an interesting twist, as usually in survival titles it’s just yourself that you need to worry about, but here it has a flavor of management games given how you need to look out for your whole group.
Outside of the camp, you’ll also need to go exploring through multiple sinister locations in an effort to find resources and uncover clues that feed into the game’s overarching narrative. However, out in the field you’ll encounter haunting events that can affect your sanity levels. If this tips you into madness this can impact your characters’ grasp on reality, but it also opens up new dialog options and special items that you can craft.
Then there are encounters with freaky, eldritch monsters, which require some strategic thinking to deal with. While you can merrily swing your humble axe, combat is much deeper than that. “Learn your enemy’s weaknesses, impair their senses, manage resources, and make use of crafting abilities and the surroundings to survive against various monstrosities,” the game’s developer explains.
So, while it’s not the traditional look for a survival horror game, it certainly delivers all the thrills you’d expect.
Edge of Sanity’s release date has also now been confirmed as Friday, September 13. Given the connotations of Friday the 13th, that seems pretty apt. You can wishlist it or try out its free demo over on its Steam page here.
For more epic titles like this, check out our guide to the best survival games. Or if you’re just looking for an excellent hidden gem to dive into, our best indie games guide is packed full of them.
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