In quite a few modern games you can activate a sort of visual filter that makes every object that can actually be interacted with in an environment, glow. Whether it be lore friendly detective vision or a pair of advanced techno goggles created by government scientists to mask the overtly gamey hand-holding mechanic in the first place. Asemblance, from Nilo Studios is a new first-person adventure slash sci-fi psychological thriller (and that’s about as succinct a description you’ll find) that offers a somewhat slower and measured experience than what you might be used to. One where pretty much all interaction and progression is left up to the player to figure out.



This sort of approach is a welcome one, and in terms of reference points you could look at games like The Stanley Parable and SOMA. Or even go way back in time to early adventure games that gave players little or no explanation as to what they were supposed to be doing. In terms of sci-fi, other forms of similar entertainment like television series’ The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror also come to mind. Where in the latter case, developer Niloh Studios points to both as specific influences on Asemblance. A project that aims to expand in future with additional episodes. Which is also, very welcome. Because even with its faults and ambiguity, Asemblance is a memorable experience.

Okay, so what’s Asembance? Well in broad terms the game centres around a memory machine, a device that lets people relive their memories. For what purpose, we don’t really know. The game begins with alarm bells ringing, confusion, and a nice sounding but you-can-tell-it’s-going-to-totes-not-be-at-some-point AI giving you some basic instructions on how to operate the machinery. The first memory, a pleasing outdoor cliff side with the sun shining and grass swaying in the wind, is the first of a handful of memories that serve as the focal point of trying to figure out who you are, how you got there, and that age-old psychological sci-fi classic ‘what the hell is going on’.



Some of the puzzles are well thought out and designed, often requiring players to listen to specific audio clues or simply zoom into entry thing you see to try force a revelation. The simple setup works well in building tension, but one that rarely elevates beyond the overall mysterious nature of the whole reliving memories thing. Which makes the whole creepy aspect of the experience feeling a little undercooked, and some of the environments too static, cold, and frozen in time. It would probably be spoilerish to give specific examples at this point, especially when you take into account that a single playthrough is roughly a very TV-friendly 45 minutes or so, but in the end Asemblance will probably leave you feeling a little unfulfilled.

Which as detrimental as that sounds, is also due to the overall ambiguity of the story. Non-linear, mysterious, clue-filled, and at times mesmerising, it’s also one that will only really resonate with people that enjoy soaking up details like ‘what’s written on that scrap of paper’ and ‘who exactly is that speaking on that recording’. In fact, with multiple endings hidden within the experience it’s already one that a passionate fan-base is scrambling to piece together. Apparently there’s even an ending that no-one has managed to find, leaving people to propose that its existence lies outside of the game entirely. A train of thought born from the fact that Asemblance isn’t an experience built on scares or thrilling moments. It’s more interested in posing mostly subtle and open-ended questions about the nature of memory, mood, and what is real.

And if you stick with it, will leave you genuinely interested in the next instalment.