Hello! Our Game of the Week is Life Eater, and let's just look again at that opening sentence from Bertie's review: "Few game ideas will turn your head quicker than one about abducting people and murdering them." That feels fair! There are lots of games about murdering people, sure, but the rest of it?

Bertie wasn't entirely convinced by Life Eater, I gather, but I think he remains pleased that it exists. And that brings me nicely to the topic of this week's column: I am incredibly glad that Life Eater's developer, Strange Scaffold, exists. And I'm going to try and explain why I feel that so strongly.

Strange Scaffold is the development label of Xalavier Nelson Jr., who is one of the most interesting creators in games. The label's made lots of games and it seems to make them quickly. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago that I was reviewing El Paso, Elsewhere, and before that it doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was playing Skatebird or Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator.

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Mechanically, Life Eater uses a diary-based puzzle system in some really interesting ways, but it struggles to say anything meaningful about the shock-factor setting it's gone for.

Few game ideas will turn your head quicker than one about abducting people and murdering them. It's an idea that courts controversy for the shock factor that comes with it, in order to stand out, and that's not necessarily a bad thing if handled right. I don't mind it here because Life Eater is a genuinely interesting indie game and not a tasteless cash-grab. Nonetheless, it's still an uncomfortable premise and an uncomfortable game - uncomfortable in some interesting ways but uncomfortable all the same. But I feel like if you're going to go there, you'd better have some interesting things to say when you do, and ultimately, I don't think Life Eater does. To me, it feels a bit frightened of the controversy it courts. But let's come back to that because there's a lot of good stuff in between that I want to talk about first.

In essence, Life Eater is a puzzle game - it's not the gory action murder simulator you might be fearing. Far from it: the moment-to-moment gameplay actually revolves around staring at people's day-to-day calendars, a kind of diary of events, and gradually filling them out. You do this by clicking on an empty space and selecting one of a few stalkery things to do to reveal them, such as carrying out a DDoS attack or hacking their phone, or peering inside their window. Activities range from subtle to brazen, and what you can do depends on a couple of things.

Read more

Hello! Our Game of the Week is Life Eater, and let's just look again at that opening sentence from Bertie's review: "Few game ideas will turn your head quicker than one about abducting people and murdering them." That feels fair! There are lots of games about murdering people, sure, but the rest of it?

Bertie wasn't entirely convinced by Life Eater, I gather, but I think he remains pleased that it exists. And that brings me nicely to the topic of this week's column: I am incredibly glad that Life Eater's developer, Strange Scaffold, exists. And I'm going to try and explain why I feel that so strongly.

Strange Scaffold is the development label of Xalavier Nelson Jr., who is one of the most interesting creators in games. The label's made lots of games and it seems to make them quickly. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago that I was reviewing El Paso, Elsewhere, and before that it doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was playing Skatebird or Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator.

Read more

Mechanically, Life Eater uses a diary-based puzzle system in some really interesting ways, but it struggles to say anything meaningful about the shock-factor setting it's gone for.

Few game ideas will turn your head quicker than one about abducting people and murdering them. It's an idea that courts controversy for the shock factor that comes with it, in order to stand out, and that's not necessarily a bad thing if handled right. I don't mind it here because Life Eater is a genuinely interesting indie game and not a tasteless cash-grab. Nonetheless, it's still an uncomfortable premise and an uncomfortable game - uncomfortable in some interesting ways but uncomfortable all the same. But I feel like if you're going to go there, you'd better have some interesting things to say when you do, and ultimately, I don't think Life Eater does. To me, it feels a bit frightened of the controversy it courts. But let's come back to that because there's a lot of good stuff in between that I want to talk about first.

In essence, Life Eater is a puzzle game - it's not the gory action murder simulator you might be fearing. Far from it: the moment-to-moment gameplay actually revolves around staring at people's day-to-day calendars, a kind of diary of events, and gradually filling them out. You do this by clicking on an empty space and selecting one of a few stalkery things to do to reveal them, such as carrying out a DDoS attack or hacking their phone, or peering inside their window. Activities range from subtle to brazen, and what you can do depends on a couple of things.

Read more

The studio behind last year's supernatural, neo-noir shooter El Paso, Elsewhere has announced its next game Life Eater.

Strange Scaffold, which also developed Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator, Sunshine Shuffle, and An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs, revealed Life Eater alongside the news it has signed a deal with indie publisher Frosty Pop to release five games.

Life Eater is described as a "horror fantasy kidnapping simulator" set in suburban America. You'll play as a modern-day druid who must kidnap and sacrifice people to the dark god Zimforth. He must perform this ritual every year, otherwise the world will end.

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Following game concepts including Max Payne with vampires, Kojima's Strands with witches, organ trading, and an airport for aliens currently run by dogs, Xalavier Nelson Jr's Strange Scaffold studio are back with another doozy. They've announced a release date of April 16th for Life Eater, a game about a modern-day druid who must kidnap and sacrifice people every year to sate a dark god and keep the world from ending. I know what you're thinking: surely he's insane in the membrane, insane in the brain. But what if he isn't?

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