After making an appearance during Feardemic’s Fear Fest earlier this month, Blowfish Studios and developer Indiesruption are set to hit the October edition of Steam Next Fest with their 2D pixel-art horror adventure title Vlad Circus: Descend into Madness. If you’re a fan of old-school adventure games like Sanitarium, then Vlad Circus might just scratch that itch.
The story takes place in 1921, where Vlad Petrescu’s famous Vlad Circus caught fire in a catastrophe that left hundreds dead. Following the tragedy, the circus troupe was disbanded, while the Vlad’s brother was found guilty of the fire and sentenced to death. Eight years later, Vlad Petrescu wants to re-form the circus, so he invites his once-legendary acts to once again entertain the masses. You play as one such member of the circus in Oliver Mills, a clown who soon seeks to escape this story full of mysteries, tragedies and pain.
Featuring a slow burn mix of puzzles, light survival mechanics, and methodical action, Vlad Cirus also features two possible endings, though which ending you get depends on you completing certain quests. The game touches a bit on Survival Horror with limited inventory space (which you’ll have to manage from more than 50 items you’ll be collecting to solve puzzles), as well as random encounters where fighting is possible, but ill-advised.
In addition to a Steam release, Vlad Circus: Descend into Madness is also in development for PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.
Steam Next Fest will take place from October 9th to 16th.