Clowns. Clowns are often scary depictions in a horror setting. This time though, you step into the big oversized shoes of Oliver the Clown, and you can’t help but feel sorry for his plight.

The year is 1921. The famous Vlad Cirus burns to the ground in smoulders, leaving death and devastation in its wake. A year later, the brother of the owner, Josef, is sentenced to the electric chair for starting the fire.

Our story though begins eight years later, and you play as the protagonist, Oliver the Clown, reuniting with his past colleagues and still carrying the trauma of the fire. With the past heavy on his shoulders, he begins to hallucinate sinister visions, but are they visions, or signs of scarier things to come? The story is intriguing and the 1 and a half hour demo has me gagging to see what else I can uncover narratively.

‘Vlad Circus: Descend into Madness,’ by Indieruption and Blowfish studios, is a pixel-art survival horror adventure that recommends playing with a controller. In my short hands-on with the demo, you are required to navigate a spooky house and its surroundings, looking for clues to solve puzzles and unlock objectives strewn about.

These puzzles could be situations such as fixing a blown fuse, opening unlocked doors, or even luring a monkey with a banana. Solving these situations often has a roll-on effect, opening up more locations and problems to solve.

The gameplay is generally side scrolling but sometimes cuts away to small cinematics. With very simple controls, items can be interacted with and picked up, in some cases, at a push of a button. Items are stored in an inventory menu at the bottom of the screen, however, you are given limited spots, so choose wisely where you leave objects and what you need in the current situation.

It was fabulous to see that this menu can be upgraded as you gather bags hidden across the map, freeing up more greatly needed carry slots. There is also a journal that logs key events and the inner thoughts of Oliver, driving the narrative to points and feelings you may not get from the gameplay.

The audio is atmospheric throughout, painting bleak environments for Oliver to creep through room after room. The graphics are very 16-bit pixelated in style, but you’d be surprised at how much detail this game punches into its characters, surrounding environments, and cutscenes. The scenes are dark and gloomy, and you just can’t wait to pump a bit of sunshine back into Oliver’s life.

Overall, Vlad Circus: Descend into Madness is so far a typical click-and-collect adventure title with a gripping horror-esque narrative. I can not wait till Indieruption delivers the full goods in 2023 (dates not disclosed) as I will be waiting in line for a ticket to this circus when it comes to town.

Written by: Stacey