Planned Release Date: Q1 2027

About This Game

Some memories refuse to stay buried.

The year is 1951. Abigail, a survivor of a horrific orphanage fire, must return to the ash-choked ruins of the Berlumvale Asylum to retrieve her official school records. However, the ashes hold more than just scorched paper and skeletal remains. They also harbor the restless souls of the children and staff who perished in the flames.

Ashes of Berlumvale is a hand-drawn animated, psychological horror adventure filled with mysteries. It blends tactile escape-room puzzles with unforgiving, logic-driven deduction mechanics where you must rely entirely on your own reasoning to solve the mystery. Caught in a nightmare between the dead and the living, you must investigate the ruins and surrounding locations to uncover the truth & lies and find a way forward into Abigail's new life.

GAMEPLAY & MECHANICS

• Unforgiving Deductive Mechanics: No hand-holding. You must find all evidence on your own, though the game provides intuitive ways to organize statements. Gather physical evidence, comb through old newspapers or notes, access protected records, manually link names, differentiate between distinct character traits, and mysterious causes of death to piece together the Asylum's history.

• Memory System: Confront the terrifying ghosts of Abigail's fellow orphans and past handlers. Endure these intense, supernatural ordeals and access "memories", allowing you to see animated flashbacks to help you with your investigation.

• A Web of Secrets: Explore 5 highly atmospheric locations, including the charred Asylum, a tense Records Office, a smoky local Bar, an ominously quiet Convenience Store, and a claustrophobic Apartment Building. Everyone in town is hiding something, and no one is talking willingly. You must pay close attention to casual rumors and tiny conversational details.

• Tactile 1950s Investigation: Navigate the manual technology of 1951. Sift through massive wooden Card Catalogues, outsmart gatekeeping clerks to bypass locked registry boxes, scan old newspapers on grainy, glowing Microfilm Viewers, and interact with other vintage & unique mechanical puzzles. A bunch of unique mechanical and metaphorical puzzles awaits you.

• Weaponize the Truth: Use an innovative dialogue system to cross-examine suspicious locals. Confront characters by forming your own questions, check historical notes, or contradictory hearsay statements to break through their lies and deflections.

• Frame-by-Frame Animation: A hauntingly beautiful, fully hand-drawn horror experience. Explore a grim, post-war world brought to life with love and fluid animation.

Made with love by a passionate, two-person Indie Game Studio 💖

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

This game contains mature themes, realistic 2D violence, and graphic depictions of trauma. Players will encounter crime scenes featuring blood, body mutilation, and hanging corpses related to themes of murder, fatal fire, and suicide. Backstory cutscenes also depict historical instances of harsh institutional discipline and physical abuse of minors (such as hitting and restraint).

The narrative contains adult humor, strong language, the depiction of alcohol and tobacco use in some locations, and implied illegal drug use. It also explores mature thematic elements, including systemic corruption, the psychological aftermath of war, and the blackmail and non-explicit sexual coercion of adult characters.