You'll never again look at blankets in the same way.
INFERNIUM is an indie survival horror game by Carlos Coronado released on PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch in 2018.
In a style reminiscent of Pac-Man, the player must overcome brutal maze-like challenges with unkillable enemies that must be lead in circles to bypass. Strategizing ahead of time is key as progression is all about using the room layout to your advantage and running your chasers into dead-ends, either to escape them or just to buy yourself more time to complete the room's puzzle.
Infernium contains examples of:
- Anti-Frustration Features: Though the light-to-lives system can seem daunting at first as light does not regenerate throughout the majority of the locations in Infernium, it's possible to reach both the Icelands and the Sun, where light 'does' regenerate, directly from Purgatory, allowing you to regain your lives again.
- Bizarrchitecture: The Floating Castle is a massive mansion stretching out into the clouds above. And the entire thing is 'upside down,' and entered from the very end tip via a dash from a small staircase.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: The various colors of different enemies each indicate different traits.
- The colors of the Cloaks indicate their levels of speed:
- Crimson Cloaks are the slowest and are easily outrun or maneuvered.
- Blue Cloaks are slightly faster then the Crimson Cloaks, but are only somewhat slower than Marina/The Player.
- Grey Cloaks (or "Dark Cloaks") are the fastest of the Cloaks and are virtually impossible to run from outright.
- Purple Cloaks (or "Ghost Cloaks"), while not as fast as the Grey Cloaks, are able to pass through walls.
- The colors of the Light-based enemies indicate different abilities in addition to certain behaviors:
- The Walkers are white and wander aimlessly (but can still harm you if you touch them).
- Light Foes are blue and will actively seek you out, but can be destroyed by the Flash Light ability.
- Exploders are a fiery orange-yellow and will self destruct when approached.
- The colors of the Cloaks indicate their levels of speed:
- Eldritch Location: The entire realm of Infernium one of these, as things go from relatively normal (cave systems, lake islands) to totally outrageous (an upside down mansion, a glowing river, endless plains) really quickly. The entire world also forms a perfect loop, and ascending up to The Plains will bring to you to an elevator that takes you to the Crimson River - the 'lowest' point of the map.
- Epiphanic Prison: Despite seeming vast and open, the world of Infernium is actually closed off and inescapble, even looping around on itself vertically if you venture far ahead enough.
- Gilded Cage: The world of Infernium is outright gorgeous in many different places, particularly in the Rain Bridge, The Plains, the Waterfall, and the Crimson River. For an inescapable purgatory, it sure is beautiful.
- Jump Scare: They can indeed happen, but they are also averted at times as well, as the game instead relies on tension to produce horror and enemies can always be seen before they see you (especially if using the free-camera to look around corners). Still occasionally present at times, however, should you walk without caution.
- Minimalist Cast: Big time. Aside from mentions of characters (who never physically appear) in various lore snippets that can be found around the world, there are no actual characters in Infernium at all. The player character does not have any set qualities and exists only as a vessel for the player, and the various enemies you face are also nameless and have no interactions with the player beside chasing them. This makes for a very lonely feeling throughout the game, which goes well to further the survival horror tension.
- Touch of Death: All enemies in Infernium kill by simply making contact with the player. The only enemy to kill through any other means is the Exploder, which can also kill you by (obviously) exploding.
