Blackwell's Asylum

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    • Blackwell's Asylum



      Blackwell's Asylum
      DEVELOPPER : Black Pipe
      GENRE : Adventure/Roleplay/Horror game
      TYPE : First Person, Single Player game
      COST : Free
      AVAILABLE ON PC (Steam)



      Inspired by real-life places (Blackwell’s Island Women’s asylum in New York) and starring a character named after a journalist (Nellie Bly, aka Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, who faked insanity to study mental institutions from within), Blackwell's Asylum is the story of Nelly, a young woman in an asylum who is trying to escape it.

      Unarmed and drugged out of her mind thanks to the doctors, she has to run, sneak and hide through the maze-like mental institution as guards/orderlies patrol the many rooms and corridors. In the style of Amnesia, you cannot fight but have to find hiding places (under desks, inside closets, etc) and control your breathing so you won't be detected... and get a Game Over.

      The game itself is short, since it's only a Demo, but it's stressful and very interesting to play. I particularly like the real-life backstory the game is based on - you can actually read Nellie Bly's report here, online, which gives you a better idea of the kind of horrible places asylum used to be... and which also sort of helps explain why so many horror games showcase that sort of places.


      You can check out the trailer here.



      SOURCES : Gamasutra, 1UP,

    • There is no full version as it was made for a competition. I haven't been able to find the dev's official website so far, and everything seems to be implying that right now, this is all there is. It's like a Demo of a game the team has made to show what they are capable of. If you check it out on Steam it should allow you to download it for free. :)