Solo developer Manthos Lappas has revealed Asthenia, a dark fantasy adventure game currently in development for PC via Steam. Set in a decaying otherworld ruled by ancient gods, the game explores themes of grief, faith, and irreversible choice, with a playable demo planned to arrive soon.
Asthenia places players in the role of Adam, an ordinary man cast into a rotting dimension alongside other displaced humans. The world is plagued by a mysterious disease and locked in an endless war, with environments ranging from abandoned towns and industrial ruins to forgotten temples and corrupted sanctuaries. Survival depends on scavenging scarce resources, confronting hostile creatures, and uncovering the truth behind the world’s collapse.
Asthenia Takes Inspiration from Titles like Scorn and Resident Evil
Combat centres on the Ancient Gauntlet, a primordial relic that functions as both a close-range weapon and a tool for interacting with the environment. Encounters are designed to be deliberate and tense, with limited energy resources forcing players to carefully weigh each action rather than rely on brute force.
Exploration in Asthenia intentionally avoids modern guidance systems. There are no maps, quest markers, or explicit objectives, requiring players to rely on observation, memory, and intuition to navigate the world. Progress is shaped by player decisions, with branching paths and three distinct endings tied to the choices made throughout the journey.
The game’s narrative is delivered primarily through environmental storytelling. Fragmented letters, unsettling audio cues, visual symbolism, and Adam’s internal narration gradually piece together the history of the world and its inhabitants. The tone draws inspiration from titles such as Resident Evil 7, Silent Hill, Outlast, and Dark Souls, blending oppressive atmosphere with lore-driven discovery.
Asthenia positions itself as a deliberately restrained experience in a genre often dominated by spectacle. Its emphasis on ambiguity, limited guidance, and personal stakes suggests a game more interested in emotional weight and player interpretation than traditional power fantasy.
Asthenia is in development for PC via Steam. A playable demo is coming soon, and players can wishlist the game now to follow future updates.
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What are your thoughts on the official reveal of Asthenia? Is it something that you would be interested in playing? Let us know in the comments section below.
