LogInThe developers of No Players Online, the short 2019 horror freeware cult-hit title, have announced a new version of the game reimagined as a full commercial project with an hour-and-a-half-long demo now available for download.
Released five years ago as a PS1-style graphics game jam entry, No Players Online soon became a big hit despite being boring or confusing at first glance. Let's recap what was this game's gimmick and what the hype all those years ago was about for those who may have missed it.
No Players Online is an experimental horror game that puts you in a world where there's nobody else on the net and essentially you're forced to play a game of Capture the Flag without any enemies to battle. Instead of an opposing team, the protagonist is haunted by a vaguely human-looking creature. Once you capture the flag three times, John, one of the developers, interrupts the game to reveal that this place was built as a means of preserving the soul of his late wife. The ending will depend on whether you agree to keep the flag and leave the ghost on the server or finish the game and delete John's wife.
Image Credits: Papercookies, No Player Online
It took players months to discover all endings, easter eggs, and hidden elements, despite that the game takes only around fifteen minutes to finish. No Players Online then continued to expand as an ARG focused on solving cryptic messages on a dedicated Discord server.
It's been a while but seems that with the release of the full-fledged No Players Online, we'll be back to those times when it was all over the Internet. Adam Pype, the designer of the original game, has announced a "spiritual successor" under the same name, featuring hours of gameplay with the playable demo already being an hour and a half long.
"Like the original, often regarded as one of the pioneering horror games in the analog liminal horror niche, the game is about the inexplicable fear of being alone in a multiplayer game, haunted abandonware, and unearthing occult mysteries hidden within early-internet rabbit holes.
The original game is mostly known for being the starting point of an elaborate ARG that had a community of players scouring the internet for clues. with the full game, we want to give individual players the experience of uncovering an ARG all on their own", says the new No Players Online description in the press kit.
Take a look at some screenshots shared by the developers:
Image Credits: Beeswax Games, No Players Online
Image Credits: Beeswax Games, No Players Online
Image Credits: Beeswax Games, No Players Online
Image Credits: Beeswax Games, No Players Online
Image Credits: Beeswax Games, No Players Online
And here's what we know about the new title's features so far:
- Fully realized faux-90s desktop, complete with minesweeper
- Download games from an obscure game forum, and get to know the community
- Combine entire games together with the Soul Transfer application but be wary of possible corruption
- Find an old multiplayer game prototype and figure out its real purpose
- Immerse yourself as you put together clues and figure out the life of the developer, and the conspiracy surrounding him
Adam Pype responds to a lot of questions from players and is very interested in watching people streaming the game. While we're waiting for the updates on the new No Players Online, follow Adam's X/Twitter account to not miss out on future announcements.
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