Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.>

Part horror, part stealth, part open world action-adventure, Betrayer [official site] is the first game from Blackpowder, a studio that includes former Monolith employees who worked on the likes of F.E.A.R. and No One Lives Forever. Released in March 2014, it’s far from an unqualified success but Betrayer wormed its way into my mind and I found myself returning to it a couple of weeks ago.

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Betrayer is a pre-industrial, mostly monochrome first-person action game from Blackpowder Games, among whom number several ex-Monolith developers. It’s out now.>

The bloody red cross of an English flag flickers against the bleached horizon like arterial spray on snow. Brittle, near-dead pines rise from the grey-white ground, silent, skeletal giants forever threatening some terrible fate to those who dare approach. A bell tolls, endlessly, through the dark and fog of The Night, an funereal peal that sounds forever and brings madness, not comfort. A flash of scarlet amid the monochrome grass signals danger. A flash of scarlet amidst the colourless, low buildings of a long-abandoned colonial fort signals… well, not safety, but at least a link to something human. The colour red. The sound of that damned bell. A switch from white to black, and back again. So much from so little.

To think all these years, we’ve been crying out for more colour in first-person games (those tireless ambassadors of grey and brown), only for the most visually striking one in some time to neatly remove almost all colour. … [visit site to read more]

Once upon a time Monolith made the candy/1970s-colored No One Lives Forever, but then the years passed and the colors drained away. The result? F.E.A.R., which traded NOLF’s yuck-yuck-yucks for some spooky, splattery “oh… yucks.” Flash forward to today: all> of the color is gone, with six Monolith vets producing the gloomily black-and-white Betrayer. It’s got scares in spades and thick cobwebs of dread lingering in every corner of its 1604 Roanoke colony setting, but is it any good? Now you can find out. Launch trailer below.

… [visit site to read more]

The latest installment of an ongoing collaboration between RPS and Dead End Thrills brings you a look at the recently released Betrayer.>

Just a moment while I stand and address the group. Hi everyone. *deep breath* I am a Monoholic. One whiff of vintage Monolith Productions and I’m back in the throes of a FEAR bender, or in a caravan park somewhere fighting ninjas disguised as Wiltshire police officers. And now this: Betrayer, an action adventure from six Monolith veterans born again indie and calling themselves Blackpowder Games. Quick, someone, chuck me that copy of Shogo or I’ll burn your house down. (more…)

Betrayer, which I’m sure only came into existence about nine minutes ago, is already available to play on Steam. Albeit an alpha version, with plans to change based on feedback. Sorry, what’s Betrayer? It’s only a new FPS from the people behind No One Lives Forever and FEAR.

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