Horror puzzler Partum Artifex delivered to Steam

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Enhanced commercial update of 2021 Senscape Adventurous Jam winner available now to download on Windows PC

What goes through the mind of a demented serial killer? Do we really even want to know? Exploring that level of cruelty for real might not be a very appealing idea, but it can make for a compelling game premise, such as in DalaKoala Games' newly released horror puzzler Partum Artifex.

Players assume the first-person role of an "art aficionado," among the few handpicked people invited to attend "one of the most exclusive and imaginative art displays." There you'll have the chance to "show off your own credentials as an artist ... be part of the creation of something astonishing," and even help "redefine and explore the concept of art." At least, that's what you're led to believe. If it sounds too good to be true, sure enough, once you arrive you'll find yourself having to "explore the mind of a twisted serial killer who wants nothing else than to show his work of art as well as tell his story to the world."

Partum Artifex is a free-roaming, atmospheric 3D adventure set in a house on a secluded property "far from civilization, deep inside a murky forest." There, within "eerie hallways [and] rooms filled with photos of the dead," you'll be challenged to solve numerous puzzles, each of which is connected to the madman's oevre and "tells its own story related to the serial killer." Along the way you'll acquire various items and tools to assist you, and the further you progress, the less redacted the "rambling writings" you discover become. Whether you want to or not, you'll be forced to help your host "finish his magnum opus," and the only way to do that is to "put yourself in the killer's shoes."

Originally conceived by Joakim "Chef" Lundstrom as a free entry in the 2021 Senscape Adventurous Jam, which it won, Partum Artifex has since been expanded and enhanced for commercial release on Steam, where it is available now to download for Windows PC.

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