Anamorphine, an adventure about coping with mental illness, comes out on July 31

Anamorphine, a "surreal adventure of rendered emotions" that follows the struggles of a young couple grappling with post-traumatic denial and depression, was originally supposed to be released in January. A last-minute delay pushed it into "late winter/early spring," but that ultimately evolved into mid-summer, as developer Artifact 5 announced today that its ambitious project will finally go live on July 31. 

It sounds like troubles with the PlayStation 4 version of the game were responsible for the postponement. "Last week we went Gold on PS4, a milestone we’ve been working towards since November 2017," the announcement blog post says. "[Developers] Ramy, Mehrdad and Mo have been complete heroes, wrestling with crash after crash on PS4 for more than seven months. To quote Ramy, 'We ate a big fat slice of humble pie,' which more or less sums up the entire process of creating this beautiful, insane passion project of a game." 

Anamorphine is about a cellist named Elena, who suffers a debilitating accident that leaves her unable to play, and her husband Tyler, who "revisits a succession of milestones that define his relationship with his wife" as he grapples with his inability to help her cope with the depression that overtakes her. The story is told without dialog or an "action button," relying instead on "pure environmental storytelling" through exploration, the discovery of secrets, and the evolution of their relationship and perceptions.   

Anamorphine will be available for $20 on Steam, the Humble Store, and other digital storefronts. Find out more at anamorphine.com

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.