The Executioner

The Executioner is a 2D game that combines elements of RPG and visual novels. The game allows players to assume the role of The Executioner who tortures people for information and kills those who pleaded guilty. The game described herein was a debut of the independent Lesser Evil Games.

Plot

The action of the game is set in a dark world inspired by the European Middle Ages. The player assumes the role of Theodor Grim, an executioner, who tortures and murders people and tries to retain whatever is left of his sanity. The main protagonist comes from the low-life folk. He inherited his profession from his father and he is very good at it, i.a. thanks to an unusual feature – synesthesia (a biological phenomenon causing a person to interpret a stimulus with a different sense – e.g. hearing a color). His task is to gather information regarding plotters and opposing the values traditional to the city that is at the verge of a revolution (including the scientists, the opponents of the so-called New Faith supported by the crown, and the Old Gods believers).

Mechanics

The Executioner, the gameplay revolves around reading and analyzing pieces of information and making choices that affect the following events. Players can decide e.g. what to do with the information they got, what is the main protagonist's approach to his work (one can even leave the dirty work to an assistant, which requires the player to take responsibility for the assistant's possible flops), etc. Theodor has also his father's journal; however, he is never sure whether the information in it should be treated as pieces of advice or warnings.

The game features several unusual mechanics and elements such as an insanity gauge, the possibility to sell convicts' corpses on the black marked, purchasing new torture tools, and... the main protagonist's synesthesia that allows him to tell whether someone is lying. The torture system is very elaborate – each victim has certain physical and mental resistance stats – extorting information requires the player to employ proper strategies and methods. The victims can get injured and go insane.

Game modes

The Executioner offers only a single player mode.

Technical aspects

The Executioner features visuals based on 2D hand-drawn maps. One is bound to notice the interesting color scheme – the game is mostly black and white, making all the other colors (such as the crimson red of the blood or green and blue visible on within the stats menu) that happen to appear on the screen more visible and distinct.

Misc.

The Executioner features extremely dark themes and is extremely violent, thus it is not fit for those faint of heart. The game has been published in several episodes.

Last updated on March 13, 2018