Purgatorium: A Family Torn Apart is a creepy FMV based psychological horror adventure that sees a drug addict attempting to escape from a mysterious monster-filled basement that she’s trapped in.
In Purgatorium: A Family Torn Apart you take on the role of a drug addict who has returned home to look for forgiveness from her family. After her mother refuses to let her in, she attempts to spend the night in a nearby basement, but soon finds the body of her dead sister and that she’s trapped in there with a bunch of freaky monsters and a bloodthirsty killer. You now have to search for useful items, stay out of danger and figure out a way to escape, all whilst using the limited light sources that are available to you.
The current build of Purgatorium: A Family Torn Apart features two different scenarios to choose from, Story and Battle, both of which deliver a similar experience, with you rooting about in the darkness for clues and useful objects, but with different areas and puzzles to solve. The Story scenario is the best of the two, primarily because of the phone-based light source – the Battle scenario uses matches (although another light source becomes available later) which go out every few seconds and have to be constantly relit, which becomes tedious very quickly.
Aside from the match-based light source issues and a lack of a save system Purgatorium: A Family Torn Apart is a very promising game. The dark and claustrophobic FMV visual style is very well implemented, the puzzles are suitably challenging and you do get a real sense of terror when you stumble across a monster. A freaky, atmospheric and cerebral FMV horror adventure well worth checking out.
Note: There are two scenarios that you can choose from at the start of the game, Story and Battle. We recommend choosing Story as it eases you into the gameplay better and gives you a cell phone to light your way instead of the annoying matches.
Check Out a Gameplay Video Here
Download the Purgatoriam: A Family Torn Apart Alpha Demo Here (Win, Mac & Linux)