GLITCHED is an upcoming, multi-part, choice-based Eastern RPG by En House Studios. Its development was the result of a Kickstarter campaign
that launched on July 22, 2016 and managed to raise $68,646. The demo, which is constantly updating, can be found here and here, along with more information about the game. It was initially planned for a 2020 release, but unexpected delays pushed the release of Part 1 to late 2022-early 2023, with a second Part planned for six months after, as detailed in this Kickstarter update.
When a glitch appears in the world of Soren, an unexpected hero, Gus, becomes aware of you - the player. Together with Gus, you will make choices that will shape the story and world around you. Discover the world of Soren and solve the mystery of the glitch. As the story unfolds, Gus might start to question what role you have in his world.
GLITCHED contains examples of:
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: In the demo, after Gus gets arrested in Douglass Village, FROG. Inc assigns you to Corina, who is tasked with retrieving Gus from the police in Gunden.
- And Your Little Dog, Too!: In the demo, the Gunden police don't take too kindly to your pet Bebo trying to stop you from being taken into custody and they kill Bebo in retaliation.
- Bystander Syndrome: Just like how you can get involved in conflicts, you can often choose in the demo to have Gus ignore them entirely and go on your merry way, focusing on your own objective.
- Choice-and-Consequence System: Your essence can change how a situation plays out, causing a whole new story to take place. It can unlock certain options in the demo, such as convincing Jeff to pay for what he stole with Conquest or Drift or outright fighting him with Zeal. With the Harmony or Conquest essence, you can successfully convince Tac and Dave to agree to a peaceful solution.
- Close-Knit Community: In the demo, there's the small town of Betwixit that Gus lives in. When Gus has to go to Gunden for help regarding the glitch, talking to the townspeople will have most of them chip in to aid him on his quest.
- Decoy Protagonist: At the beginning of the game's demo, you're assigned to Conrad, who plans to leave the town. You control him as he interacts with people around Betwixit at night. He can optionally help Lenny with getting back into his house and buy Snap Candy from Slick Rick. Conrad even shows some paranoia that someone might be watching him. By the time he meets up with Gus, however...
- Interface Screw: The glitch has weird side effects in the game's demo to the point where it can even screw with you directly. When the glitch corrupts Conrad, everything about him is affected, from his sprite to even the dialogue box. After you choose to save or leave Gus, the game outright crashes after a few moments!
- No Fourth Wall: The game, including its demo version. The employees at FROG Inc. are aware of you the second you begin a new game. Due to the glitch screwing things up, Gus becomes aware of you and talks to you frequently.
- Ret-Gone: After the glitch happens in the demo, excluding Gus and the player, none of the townspeople in Betwixit remember Conrad's existence, much to Gus' confusion and frustration. Even the photos and books involving him are corrupted.
- Time Skip: In the demo, the game jumps forward three weeks after Gus gets arrested by the Gunden police.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: Rather than choosing to save Gus when he gets hit with the glitch in the demo, you can opt to leave him to his fate. Your save file will get corrupted as well if you do this and trying to continue the game from that save will result in a black screen with random sprites floating down the screen. Better start a new game and save Gus!
