ASYLUM Demo Aftermath
Hi everybody! 👋🏼
I just wanted to get in touch with you after the period of demoing ASYLUM. Last week was pretty intense and exciting, the biggest week yet in the entire development! We got so much feedback and suggestions that we're still filtering your impressions and reports. It's been hugely fun to share the first glimpse of the game with you.
The balance of the demo is overwhelmingly positive: exceptional performance in general, very few bug reports, and many happy players. Of the platforms we're currently supporting, Linux clearly needs the most work and rest assured we'll get to it. Everybody will be able to enjoy ASYLUM without issues. Most importantly, you really seem to have like the game so far! Which is a relief as it looks like we didn't throw 10 years of our lives down the drain 😅
No, seriously, I must confess that I wasn't expecting such an outstanding reaction — after all, ASYLUM is old school, it can be a bit of an acquired taste, and shouldn't be the kind of game that has mass appeal. But it did! Thousands of people played the demo and it was extensively featured on YouTube, even by prominent streamers. And I swear, the reactions have been nearly unanimously positive! This is clearly the game you wanted to play and the one we wanted to make, so it's a match made in heaven (well, or hell, given the subject matter).
Two aspects stood out: first, we all agree about the kind of game this should be. From the moody intro to a prevailing sense of strangeness, as well as a few occasional jokes, nobody said "I wasn't expecting this". Or "I thought it was going to be survival horror". Even though the demo is brief and not much happens story-wise, we got to test the mechanics, dialogue system, atmosphere, puzzle design, etc. and it all works. No major changes are needed and this is very good news. All your requests are queued now, crucially the skipping subtitles behavior which isn't consistent when you're exploring vs. dialogues, so that's a priority. But the takeout is: the game works.
The second aspect is how much the game reminded you of Scratches. And that's a very good thing because we've been touting it as its spiritual successor. Scratches became a beloved title so we have much to live up to, and so far so good. Whether they where playing the demo or watching it on YouTube, people said that ASYLUM nails the "Scratches feel". It's going to be 15 years since it was released, so I'm very glad that we managed to reproduce that feeling 😊
One final bit of good news is that we reached 40.000 wishlists on Steam. Which is quite a lot, especially for a point-and-click adventure. Based on the metrics from the Steam Game Festival, this is easily one of the most anticipated horror games right now, which is both exhilarating and intimidating 😬
In short: the ASYLUM demo was a trial by fire and we passed the test with flying colors. The whole Senscape team wants to thank you very, very much for your enthusiasm and support 🙏🏼 We're back to work to finish the game as soon as we can, knowing it's something you'll want to play. I can't stress this enough: the demo was a mere introduction. No matter what you expect or think you may have figured out about the plot, we will surprise you. The story, the atmosphere, the puzzles, the horror, everything that comes next is better in every regard. And we can't wait to share it with you!
So from the darkest bottoms of our cold and twisted hearts, thanks again. I'll be sure to keep you posted of our little odyssey, and yes, try and decide on a launch timeframe soon. Stay safe!
—Agustín
I just wanted to get in touch with you after the period of demoing ASYLUM. Last week was pretty intense and exciting, the biggest week yet in the entire development! We got so much feedback and suggestions that we're still filtering your impressions and reports. It's been hugely fun to share the first glimpse of the game with you.
The balance of the demo is overwhelmingly positive: exceptional performance in general, very few bug reports, and many happy players. Of the platforms we're currently supporting, Linux clearly needs the most work and rest assured we'll get to it. Everybody will be able to enjoy ASYLUM without issues. Most importantly, you really seem to have like the game so far! Which is a relief as it looks like we didn't throw 10 years of our lives down the drain 😅
No, seriously, I must confess that I wasn't expecting such an outstanding reaction — after all, ASYLUM is old school, it can be a bit of an acquired taste, and shouldn't be the kind of game that has mass appeal. But it did! Thousands of people played the demo and it was extensively featured on YouTube, even by prominent streamers. And I swear, the reactions have been nearly unanimously positive! This is clearly the game you wanted to play and the one we wanted to make, so it's a match made in heaven (well, or hell, given the subject matter).
Two aspects stood out: first, we all agree about the kind of game this should be. From the moody intro to a prevailing sense of strangeness, as well as a few occasional jokes, nobody said "I wasn't expecting this". Or "I thought it was going to be survival horror". Even though the demo is brief and not much happens story-wise, we got to test the mechanics, dialogue system, atmosphere, puzzle design, etc. and it all works. No major changes are needed and this is very good news. All your requests are queued now, crucially the skipping subtitles behavior which isn't consistent when you're exploring vs. dialogues, so that's a priority. But the takeout is: the game works.
The second aspect is how much the game reminded you of Scratches. And that's a very good thing because we've been touting it as its spiritual successor. Scratches became a beloved title so we have much to live up to, and so far so good. Whether they where playing the demo or watching it on YouTube, people said that ASYLUM nails the "Scratches feel". It's going to be 15 years since it was released, so I'm very glad that we managed to reproduce that feeling 😊
One final bit of good news is that we reached 40.000 wishlists on Steam. Which is quite a lot, especially for a point-and-click adventure. Based on the metrics from the Steam Game Festival, this is easily one of the most anticipated horror games right now, which is both exhilarating and intimidating 😬
In short: the ASYLUM demo was a trial by fire and we passed the test with flying colors. The whole Senscape team wants to thank you very, very much for your enthusiasm and support 🙏🏼 We're back to work to finish the game as soon as we can, knowing it's something you'll want to play. I can't stress this enough: the demo was a mere introduction. No matter what you expect or think you may have figured out about the plot, we will surprise you. The story, the atmosphere, the puzzles, the horror, everything that comes next is better in every regard. And we can't wait to share it with you!
So from the darkest bottoms of our cold and twisted hearts, thanks again. I'll be sure to keep you posted of our little odyssey, and yes, try and decide on a launch timeframe soon. Stay safe!
—Agustín
