Thy Creature presents a dark, fantasy story adventure with a cast of characters who all deal with finding their identity, amnesia, and overcoming trauma.

You play as ‘Nameless Creature’, a hybrid creature of a man ala ‘Frankenstein’s Monster’ who has recently escaped an angry mob, seeking solace in an eerie tower. Upon arrival, Creature experiences an emotional connection to the mysterious dwelling, fueling his desire to regain his memories of both himself and the tower. Shortly thereafter, Creature is attacked by an elegantly dressed floating figure, who questions Creature’s motives. Suddenly, Creature is attacked by a giant ghastly demonic book, eventually fainting. When awoken, Creature meets Noah, a resident orphan turned Mortician and currently held against his will inside the Tower.

The duo butt heads during their initial first meeting, but reluctantly agree to team up to try and work out what is going inside this place of evil. I was encased in trying to find out the mystery of this whole story until the starting dialogue between Creature and Noah continued to drag on for quite some time, in which both characters seemingly dialoguing the words ‘I don’t know’ about 3-4 times between them. It eventually does get back on track, but that initial start, plus some dramatic camera zooms that take place during these dialogued cutscenes sometimes really over-exaggerate things that don’t require it to be.

As you traverse your way through the tower, you’ll come across various enemies and puzzles that both need conquering. Many of the villains you initially encounter come in the form of black-haired, damaged yet possessed stuffed dolls but eventually change in appearance as the game progresses. When fighting an enemy, you are transported onto a grid-like playing field, ala Pac-Man, and must only step on the grids in order to move around. Periodically, black glimmering shards will appear on the screen, and successfully walking on said shards results in the enemy losing either a half or a full heart in their health bar.

You, too, are given a certain number of hearts to hopefully survive the barrage of floating red-streamed attacks. The good thing about these fights is that, if you do happen to lose your hearts, the game will simply ask if you want to restart the fight or quit the game – a vintage option long since removed in current-gen adventure games – which is a big relief to not seemingly restart from a checkpoint somewhere in the tower and try and remember your way back to the boss. Upon downing and defeating your foe, a ‘memory’ will play out on the grid, with all characters in the memory being place held by black silhouettes, as the story of either Creature, Noah, or the past of another character is replayed before your eyes, advancing both the mystery and the overall storyline.

The pause menu provides a detailed look at the various characters you’ve encountered on your journey thus far, alongside a list of main and side quests. The following tabs showcase the collectables you have found, all of which have a peculiar backstory to them. There’s also a tab showcasing information on the bosses you will eventually face, but perhaps they aren’t as evil as first thought…

The real heroes of Thy Creature have to be its art and soundtrack. Its quirky, very detailed characters almost appear anime / comic book-esque with the backgrounds matching the detail. The fighting design, art, and execution make for engaging, sometimes very challenging, and intense moments. The soundtrack is just as haunted as the tower itself, with gothic-themed piano and orchestral music accompanying you on the journey, only to shift and change on a dime depending on the moments being undertaken.

The real downside to the audio department is the lack of some sound effects and dialogue. Most adventure games have their protagonist and ensemble cast vocalised, but sadly for Thy Creature, we’re left with almost a silent film approach to the game. I would have liked to have heard the cast’s voices, but I can also understand perhaps a film noir / early black and white horror movie inspiration was their choice for no vocalisation. Some sound effects too wouldn’t go astray, with the tower being dubbed as eerie, yet there are next to no door creaks, background atmosphere, or room tone. Once during the game, a loud female scream can be heard – which actually makes you jump in your seat! Not from fright, but just the sheer sound of someone in the game having a voice!

Thy Creature Is a fantastic dark fantasy game, complete with a stunning art style, an impressive orchestral soundtrack, and immersive gameplay and storyline. For a debut game, developer MazM and publisher Growing Seeds Corporation are really onto something special here!

Written by: Brutaleo