Developer Osmotic Studios and indie label Surprise Attack Games today announced that Episode Four of their privacy-invasion thriller game, Orwell, is available now. The full season can now be purchased from stores including Steam and the Humble Store.
Orwell is divided into five episodes, each of which take roughly one hour to complete and encompass one day of game time. Reflecting its nature as a narrative-driven thriller, these episodes will release weekly, keeping players in suspense as they wait for the next episode to drop. Players can purchase the full season for US $9.95 and those on the fence can try Episode One as a free demo.
Episode Four – Memory Hole – is now available for those who have purchased the game. The culprits behind the bombings may have been identified but the true motivations for the attacks are as muddy as ever. The player will dig deeper into the backgrounds of some suspects whilst the remaining members of Thought begin to make plans of their own.
About Orwell
In the style of games such as “Papers, Please”, “Her Story” and “Cibele”, Orwell raises serious questions about contemporary society in a way that only a game can. It’s themes include the balance between security and freedom, what it means when we trade privacy for connection, and the impact of the internet on the way we perceive our world and are perceived by others.
The player is cast as themselves, recruited by The Nation to be a part of a secret new security program – Orwell. Through Orwell, the player gains access to information from the internet, and the personal communications and private files of anyone suspected of connection to the terror attacks. Acting as an impartial outside, the player must choose what information to provide to security services, and what to hold back. These choices will have consequences for those involved and affect the outcome of the story as it unfolds towards its dramatic conclusion.