If you were playing a game and the protagonist suddenly started talking to you, how would you react? Would you treat them better? Would you deem it creepy and pretend it never happened? Glitched entertains this scenario with a pair of characters: Gus (the protagonist) and you (the player). Explore the world together, resolve conflict, or dive right into it and make decisions that may change Gus in ways you weren’t prepared for.
In this RPG, the world of Soren encounters a glitch and, suddenly, player and protagonist are united – for better or for worse. Your mission is to travel with Gus and discover why the glitch occurred in the first place. Unfortunately, no good journey is without hard choices and obstacles, and Glitched is no exception.
Players will have to make decisions that have influence on Gus, shaping what the game calls ‘Essence’. As you make these choices, Gus’ Essence will change and could lead you down a whole new story path. On top of the story reacting to you, so too will the characters you encounter along the way. Perhaps you’ll get along swimmingly with a character that carries the same essence as Gus, or perhaps you’ll butt heads constantly. Essence is a mysterious thing and you’ll discover its purpose as your journey progresses.
On top of all the stress of decision-making is the battle between conflict and conflict resolution. Before a fight breaks out, why not try the pacifist route and talk it out? A handy tension meter is your guide into letting you know whether to keep talking or prepare to bear arms when you find yourself in conflict with someone, allowing players to try different means to solve problems.
If you’re not savvy in a conversation, you’ll be thrust into a FATE battle. Using a turn-based system, Glitched has players use cards and energy to fight. By collecting different cards for your many allies, you’ll be able to put together a powerful deck, ready to trounce any enemies that aren’t keen on talking through their feelings.
Once in a while, it’s nice to unwind with your partner in the journey. The player and Gus are encouraged to talk and share their lives with each other in heart-to-heart conversation. Gus is a good-listener and may even handle certain situations differently, depending on what you say…
You can try out Glitched in a demo on itch.io here. You can also follow future developments on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook.
