REalM: Walk of Soul Presskit

Factsheet

Developer:
Authentic Illusions, Arbor Sheep, Games Starter
Based in Monterrey, NL, Mexico

Founding date:
May 5, 2014

Press / Business contact:
press@realmwalkofsoul.com

Social:
twitter.com/REalMWalkofSoul
facebook.com/REalMwalkOfSoul

Description

After falling in her dreams, Iris awakens in a nightmarish world. Immerse yourself into a tormenting REalM while a haunting soundscape mesmerizes your soul. Will you be able to help her find a way to escape this tormenting RealM?

REalM Walk of Soul is a 2D surreal horror game that will take the you through a non-linear journey, full of bizarre abominations and indecipherable, mesmerizing mysteries. You'll need solve challenging puzzles to access new areas and unfold the story of Iris. The main inspirations are drawn from surreal horror indie game Yume Nikki as well as classics from the survival horror Golden Age, like Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

History

ArborSheep

Arbor Sheep is an Art Studio formed by two artists and a freelance musician, back when they were students at Tec de Monterrey (University). Although they have little to no experience in coding, they all excel at making awesome art. REalM is Arbor Sheep's first commercial project although small free games in Flash were created in the past.

Authentic Illusions

Authentic Illusions is an indie studio dedicated to develop video games with special focus on Artificial Intelligence. Although they have little experience in art (can make great stick mans) they have lots of experience in coding.

REalM: Walk of Soul

The idea of REalM: Walk of Soul started out years ago in the mind of Audio (Lead Artist), but it was in November 2013 when the development started. Audio was working on a pet project with Authentic Illusions and other friends, when he discussed the project with Lex (Lead Programmer). Originally, REalM was going to be Audio's final graduation project. This quickly grew into a full game idea and development for it started. On April 12 2014, REalM was selected to be the first game featured on the Square Enix Collective platform. On May 31, the game was showcased as part of the Indie Square section of the Latin Game Conference 2014 in Monterrey (Mexico). On it, representatives of the PlayStation Developer Incubation Program saw the game running on PC and PS Vita and saw potential in it, inviting us to join the Playstation Developer Incubation Program. On August 23, REalM's prototype Demo was released to the public and on the 26th its Greenlight campaign launched. It took 4 months to get Greenlit. By March 2015, Games Starter (a new, local incubator and publisher for Indie studios) became REalM's publisher, providing extra funding, mentorship to improve the game and also marketing, which includes showcasing it at some of the most relevant video game events worldwide.

Features

Everything is there for a reason: Iris can't fight, so you must rely on other means to stay alive and make it back home.
Defy your mind with mind breaking puzzles, they will punch you in the stomach and then raise you to heaven when you least expect them to.
Explore a unique and bizarre world to find your way back home.

Videos

REalM October trailer YouTube

REalM final teaser YouTube

Images

download all screenshots & photos as .zip (24MB)

There are far more images available for Authentic Illusions, but these are the ones we felt would be most useful to you. If you have specific requests, please do contact us!

Logo & Icon

download logo files as .zip (1MB)

Awards & Recognition

"Accepted at PAX South Rising." - January, 2016
"Accepted by Games Starter game accelerator and incubator." - 31 December, 2014
"Accepted in the Playstation Latin America Incubation Program." - May, 2014
"First game to appear on the Square Enix Collective (not beta version)." - 13 April, 2014

Selected Articles

"The idea of taxing brain-teasers against such a delightfully creepy canvas is really appealing, and I want more."
- Sarah Leboeuf, Mashable
"Looks like a Tim Burton Myst Survival Game."
- Destin Legarie, IGN
"While the puzzles were challenging, they were not impossible. That is the beauty of Realm... With very little dialogue, it tells a clear and concise story that isn’t overburdened by cut-scenes and allows the player to become completely enveloped in it."
- Nika Howard, Geekly Inc
"REalM: Walk of Soul's dream world is not a nice place to be, but it sure is beautiful. There’s an unsettling, horror-like atmosphere, with a world full of Dali-esque surreal artwork and freaky creatures that you can’t help but stare at in morbid fascination."
- Calum Fraser, Alpha Beta Gamer
"An interesting game, very weird, creepy vibe. Beautifully done artwork, i loved the animated cut scenes, they are very well done. The character designs are really cool, overall it’s a cool game, definitely go check out for yourselves.."
- KottabosGames, /KottabosGames
"This is a very stylized, non-linear game that slowly reveals more story as you progress. Can I solve this dream land’s puzzles, or will I be stuck in this place forever?"
- Remvatos , /remvatos