“Asylum” Game Recommendation — echoes from the old guard

The point-and-click horror video game Asylum is deeply engaging and a novelty in the current gaming landscape.

I was provided with a free copy of Asylum for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

Adventure games are not dead. The classic style that LucasArts and Sierra popularized might not be as in vogue as it was during their heyday, but you can’t ignore the many releases whose lineage and styling owe to their classic catalogue. Just this year, we’ve had Rosewater. It’s a new game in a familiar mold that proves that the genre keeps inspiring creatives and producing memorable stories.

The 90s were pretty good, then. I think we all agree. But what happens when we move just ten years later, to the 2000s? While Guybrush Threepwood’s style might not be as prevalent, there’s an undeniable love for the point-and-click genre, now reinvigorated by the use of 3D.

Among the myriad of releases that the 2000s gave us, there’s a certain Argentine game that gained a cult following. That game is called Scratches, and it’s a point-and-click, first-person adventure horror game. It has you clicking around a building trying to solve a mystery, all accompanied by wonderful voice acting and a very secluded and foreboding atmosphere.

Now, 19 years later, Scratches’ director Agustín Cordés is back with a new horror game. It’s a point-and-click, first-person horror adventure game that lets you click around a building to solve a mystery while some charming performances break the foreboding ambience.

It’s easy to say that Asylum repeats a certain formula, maybe even one that’s considered quite a bit more cliché by 2025. The game, however, remains unrelenting in its authenticity and love for the genre, and is focused on delivering a genuine experience.

This isn’t really “retro” in response to “modern” horror gaming. This is just a very good, very engaging 2009 game that came out this year.

In case you didn’t know, Asylum’s production spans more than a decade. The concept and design might have seen changes over the years, but it somehow feels pure and untainted by Outlast, Amnesia, FNAF, and so many other newer horror offerings.

The game is made in Unreal Engine. It seems very likely to me that conversations about letting you walk around and do things in real time were had about it. The decision to focus on the original design even as time moved forward is certainly commendable.

The result is a game that, despite its long development, has avoided the trap of constantly chasing the newest trend. It feels pure and focused. It doesn’t really feel new, but the simple adherence to the old traditions makes it novel in our modern landscape. It’s just a classic point-and-click horror game. Isn’t that great?

The story sees us visiting the Hanwell Institute to figure out things about our past. Learning about the role we had here and whatever ominous tragedy occurred in this place becomes our motivation for a quest that quickly guides us around musings on psychology, philosophy, and ethics.

And it works! Asylum is deeply engaging and eloquently written, with many memorable performances. There’s occasionally a sense that some of the voicework might have been done five years before other parts of the game, but it still coalesces into a great story.

Now, point-and-click first-person adventure games aren’t dead either. The genre lives on in games like qualia and The Children of Clay. The game might be eccentric, but it’s not exactly anachronistic.

And still, there’s something that feels nostalgic. A way of working with the story, a feel in the dialogue, and the styling of the prose. If you’ve enjoyed that era of gaming, Asylum is a must-play. 

It comes from a place that still echoes today… … horror, unearthed so many years ago.

Maybe it’s crying for you. Will you heed its call?

You can buy Asylum on Steam by clicking here.

And can see more of our game coverage here.

Author: Claribel M

Writer, narrative designer, journalist. Perpetually doing too much.

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