I’ve always loved a good choose your own adventure. There was something about being given a scenario and having to work your way from page to page that made the experience of reading even more immersive. I love the fact that this is something that didn’t bury itself in the past but migrated to our computer and console screens, and the game that we’ll be discussing today is a very good example of this art form. It’s called Mothmen 1966 and it’s bringing 80s pixel noir bang up to date.
Coming from the folk over at LCB Game Studio and publishers Chorus Worldwide, Mothmen 1966 is a virtual novel that’s paying homage to mid-20th century pulp fiction and ’80s home-computer gaming alike. Throw in a touch of the paranormal and what’s not to love, right? So what’s this interesting-sounding narrative about, then?
You’ll be following in the footsteps of several characters who seem to share the same taste for bad luck. A young couple called Lee and Victoria, Holt, a local gas station owner, and a paranormal investigator called Lou are about to encounter mysteries that will shatter their perception of reality. The annual Leonid Meteor Shower draws spectators far and wide. In 1966, however, something isn’t quite right. This leads to men in black arriving in town demanding answers to impossible questions. There’s definitely something otherworldly out there, though, that isn’t friendly; threatening red eyes peer from the woods.
You’ll be challenged to complete eleven chapters of accessible ‘choose your own adventure,’- inspired gameplay that places narrative above all else. You’ll need to solve a series of tricky puzzles if you are to make it through intact. Fortunately, Mothmen 1966 isn’t going to be a game that ties you in knots. Should you become stuck on any given riddle you’ll be able to enlist the aid of the other characters in the game to pull you through. This will help maintain the pace of the story and prevent you from getting completely stuck.
You’ll explore a branching narrative driven by player urgency. There are many tasks you’ll participate in on your adventure, which will include uncovering hidden cryptids with binoculars, fending off a pack of hungry coyotes, and playing a game of impossible solitaire. All the while you’ll investigate a gorgeous 8-bit landscape that would be perfectly at home on a game being powered by ’80s tech such as the ZX Spectrum.
If you play and love what Mothmen 1966 has to offer you’ll be pleased to note that this is one of a series of virtual novels making up the “Pixel Pulps,” collection. You’ll even be able to get a sneaky look at the next game in the series. Varney Lake, a Stephen King-inspired romp will be due to appear on our screens later this year. You’ll be able to get a teaser demo included with your Mothmen experience that hints at some of the mysteries still to come.
“Pixel Pulps … gotta love the alliteration, right? But ‘Pixel Pulps,’ is more than two words we think sound cool together,” said Nico Saraintaris, writer and co-founder of LCB Game Studio. “Mothmen 1966 is the first entry in our shared universe, and we cannot wait for players to experience it.”
If you happen to be one of those players wanting to experience it you can go and do that now. Mothmen 1966 is available on PS4, (playable on PS5,) Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and, of course, PC. If you love a good choose your own adventure and also happen to be a fan of the retro ’80s style that we’ve all come to know and love this might be a very good call for you. If you fancy experiencing the mysteries that Mothmen 1966 is bound to bring you, there’s no real reason for you to wait.
