Absention

Absention for PC is a horror action-adventure game focusing on stealth that throws us to a time loop battling an unidentified evil. The game is a debut production of an independent Australian Dream Wave Games.

Plot

The plot of Absention takes us to a stylish mountain residence, which was inherited by the main hero from his father who had mysteriously disappeared years ago. Weary after a long journey, the protagonist falls asleep. Suddenly, we are awoken by a music box hidden in an old clock. In that same moment, the power is cut, and the residence is filled with impenetrable darkness. Our hero is met by the sinister eyes of a monster. After a short while, we wake up again, to discover that we’ve been imprisoned in a mysterious time loop, which is a home to some malevolent power.

Mechanics

We are left to relive the same night in the mansion, in which each passing day is greeted with a different room arrangement. However, our mind stays clear, and our task is to draw conclusions from previous mistakes, and continue exploring the strange house. Absention is somewhat similar to Alien: Isolation, as the game doesn’t contain any combat sequences, while we are constantly stalked by one, albeit powerful and intelligent enemy. Aside from exploration and solving typical logic puzzles, the gameplay focuses on the sneaking aspect – our main task is to stay away from the monster.

Absention has pretty formidable graphics for an independent production – the game is powered by Unreal Engine 4, with full support for Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headset.

Last updated on January 16, 2017