For those of us who value creativity, places like Steam Greenlight, Kickstarter.com, and IndieDB are full of interesting projects and concepts that, for one reason or another, never make it to full release. Granted, most indie developers have to contend with the difficulties that come with being a 'starving artist', especially in this increasingly hostile economy, and not every idea gets the attention it deserves in any case. Still, there are a few that refuse to give in, and continue to fight for their moment in the sun, despite all adversity. I've listed a few of my favorites here with an eye to my love of horror titles for your viewing and opinion, along with my view as to their potential health and likelihood of release. To be clear, I'm judging the project's viability based on how many updates the developers have produced, as well as how much material they've released over their development lifetime. I'm also basing it on how many botched release promises they have under their belt and how long they've been under construction. Some devs are bound to be more active than others when it comes to engaging fans, and indie devs are notably bad, especially the smallest ones, so don't treat this as a perfect measuring stick for the likelihood of seeing these titles come out. 1. Allison RoadDEVELOPED BY FAR FROM HOME Anyone who enjoyed the Silent Hills Playable Teaser has probably heard about this little gem. One of a number of copycats that sprang up in the wake of the source material's untimely cancellation by Konami (as part of their devious plan to throw their entire company into a death-spiral), Allison Road strives to recapture the photo-realistic and dead-silence terror that made its inspiration a cult classic. I say 'strives' because despite apparently being cancelled itself back in June of 2016, the game sprang back to life in August of the same year, with a new development team. While nothing else seems to have emerged since then, at least as far as I could find, the game's promotional site is still up, which gives me high hopes for this spooky title. Let's just hope the rest of its development isn't as turbulent as it has been so far. Their Facebook is still active as of November 2016, but there's been nothing else since, so I'm tenuous about the ultimate fate of this tempting title. Chances of Release: UNCERTAIN 2. TangiersDEVELOPED BY ANDALUSIAN STUDIOS Inspired by the works of Salvador Dali, Kane Lynch, early industrial music, the dadaist art movement and a number of other outlandish surrealist sources, Tangiers has touted itself as a THIEF-styled stealth game, where words can be used to change the nature of reality. It sounds magnificent, and when I first heard about it, I was immediately hooked. Unfortunately though, ever since its original announcement way back in 2013, the game's co-creator Alex Harvey and his Andalusian Studios have yet to produce much besides some interesting screenshots, a snippet or two of gameplay, and a long string of requests for funding. It's no surprise either. Given what I've been able to dig up, the development team is two people, including Harvey himself. The original Kickstarter campaign didn't go so well, and since then, Andalusian has been maintaining a level of radio silence that has irked many of their hopeful donors, who increasingly feel like they've been scammed. Their latest update was in January, and their Steam Greenlight page hasn't been touched in two years. Things are looking increasingly grim for this enticingly bizarre and shadowy title, but it is my hope that someday it might just become more than a bunch of broken promises. Chances of Release: POOR 3. RoutineDEVELOPED BY LUNAR SOFTWARE Another gorgeous gem mired in broken release-date promises, Routine is a chilling and fascinating 'non-linear' horror experience set on an abandoned moonbase with 80's era technology. Your goal is to unravel the story as you go, and everything I've seen gives me a very Alien: Isolation vibe, and I mean that in every good way I can. The devs have been rather active in keeping their fans notified as to what's going on, so the games prospects are better than Tangiers in that regard at least. Their latest failure to meet their deadline this past March had me foaming at the mouth, and I'd only learned about it a few months prior. I can't imagine what torture it must be for the people who've been supporting the game since it's announcement in 2013. Still, the creators seem dedicated and honest, and have released plenty of content to prove the product's worth while not spoiling any of the details. My hopes for this one are very high! Chances of Release: VERY GOOD 4. GraveDEVELOPED BY BROKEN WINDOW STUDIOS Grave is an anomaly that popped up on my radar recently that I initially dismissed when I saw Markiplier playing an alpha version a few years back. However, the devs at Broken Window Studios have more recently released Grave VR, which takes advantage of Valve's HTC technology to bring you a non-linear, open-world to bring you a Ray Bradbury/Lovecraftian nightmare up close and in your face. They haven't updated their Steam Greenlight page in a while, but in this case it's because they're still very hard at work. Their Facebook page has been experiencing regular posts leading up to Grave VR's release in which they've openly stated that the vanilla version of the game is still under development. While I could appreciate a little more gameplay footage to go off of, I think it's safe to say that of the titles on this list, Grave is the most likely to actually escape development hell in the relative near future. Chances of Release: VERY GOOD 5. The Peterson CaseDEVELOPED BY QUARTER CIRCLE STUDIOS There have been a few games that dabbled in the horror of alien abduction, but compared to The Peterson Case, none of them have shown any true production value. According to the sole trailer I've been able to locate, it's implied the game is set near Roswell, Nevada, in the wake of the infamous incident. You take the role of Franklin Reinhardt, a private eye assigned to investigate the mysterious Peterson family, who live in the area. What minuscule amounts of gameplay that the video shows suggests a good ol' survival-horror vibe with a touch of Alien: Isolation as the player cowers in a wardrobe to hide from a long-limbed, growly, big-headed creature out of Whitley Streiber's nightmares. Sadly, for all its promise, this game looks more like another Tangiers more than anything that's likely to appear in the near future. The last post on the devs' Facebook page is circa 2015, and I was unable to locate any new material pertaining the title, so it's totally possible that this one has died in it's crib. Still, I'll hold out hope for as long as I can. Maybe they'll come back out of the blue, or someone else will revive the project. For now though, this is yet another unfortunate victim of the unreliability of Kickstarter. Chances of Release: POOR 6. Gray DawnDEVELOPED BY INTERACTIVE STONE Seldom have I seen a game that puts as much attention into environmental detail as Gray Dawn. Information released so far has you playing as a Swedish priest in a Romanian township who's been accused of killing one of his altar boys. Alone and without friends, you must navigate the wild and bucolic village and surrounding environs while suffering from visions of biblical evil. If anything, the game deserves to be recognized for the sheer originality of its setting choice alone. I only hope the writer can live up to his unique choice of backdrop. Despite a mostly silent Steam Greenlight page, the game's official website is still up and apparently active, and the last post on their Facebook page is from this past month at the time of this writing. Essentially, Interactive Stone is the opposite of Andalusian, in that while their initial Kickstarter gambit failed, it seems they've been keeping up the good work AND staying in touch with their fan base. So long as they don't break any release-date promises, they should be good. Chances of Release: GOOD 7. VisageDEVELOPED BY SAD SQUARE STUDIOS Some might be tempted to call Visage another P.T. wannabe, but in my experience, most of the games that have tried to mimic P.T. are horrible rush jobs, where as Visage looks like something someone has put their heart and soul into. It's one thing to be a copycat, and another to be an homage. I know I'm not alone in thinking this since among these sad tales, Visage is rare in that it blew the lid off its Kickstarter by getting 200% funded. So far Sad Square Studios has remained very active on Facebook, and continues to post updates, so there's a good chance they're anything but dead.
Chances of Release: GOOD What do you guys think? Are some of these titles destined to fly? Or will they flop! Let me know your favorites in the comments below! Also, this is my first list/opinion piece, so be gentle if I got anything wrong! Also, be aware I have a few other games that didn't quite make the list for the sake of brevity and because I wasn't sure if I could mark them as fit for 'development hell'. As it is, I'm sure you'll notice that some of these games may or may not belong here, given the untrustworthy and inscrutable nature of development cycles. But hey, what can you do?
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