Single Malt Apocalypse

Single Malt Apocalypse is a short form adventure story with JRPG elements that plays as much for muted comedy as it does for cosmic horror. One part Weird Tales, one part Lovecraft, it wears its influences on its sleeve while still managing to do something charming and original. The initial offering from one-person developer wilpuriarts, the game feels like an artful and considered first effort, I was instantly impressed with the level of polish in the pre-release version that I played. The story opens with Leonardo, a mustachioed detective from Sacramento who shows up in the the small mining town of Cinderbrook to help a distiller named Algernon with a unique problem: his latest batch of whiskey has gone bad…so bad that it’s glowing bright pink and causing bizarre physical psychological changes in anyone who consumes it. That’s it. That’s the story. Right now, you know if you’re in or not. With that situation in mind, the game doesn’t spell out too much beyond the initial premise, and the player is left to explore the mystery in a non-linear fashion free of quest logs, cumbersome tutorials, or bloated menus. Exploration is consistently rewarding, and I never lacked a thread to pull on to move the story forward. SMA created a genuine sense that I was conducting an investigation, checking in to the dozen or so areas around the town and finding barriers I would eventually be able to remove in logical ways. Full review at: https://www.voguehorror.com/games/single-malt-apocalypse-2023