“Welcome to the Ashman Inn.”
Remothered: Broken Porcelain is the much-awaited sequel to the award-winning game Remothered: Tormented Fathers, and the second game of titular series the Remothered trilogy. The game is being developed by Italian game studio Stormind Games and published by Darril Arts in association with Modus Games. Honestly speaking though I was not that impressed with the first game and wasn’t even aware its sequel had garnered so much hype. For me the game never reached that dreadful, horror atmosphere that made Outlast and Alien: Isolation so terrifying, but more on that later.
Now the first game Tormented Fathers although it was not much of a commercial success it faired pretty well in the market. It was hailed as the “scariest game of all time” by multiple outlets and won several awards in the indie and horror category. Following the success of the first game, Director Chris Darril announced the sequel Remothered: Broken Porcelain during the IVGA (Italian Video Game Awards) on 11th April 2019. Since then the studio has released two trailers and provided us with several details, so let’s get on with the juicy details.
Remothered: Broken Porcelain Story & Characters
In the sequel, you play as Jennifer, an unruly fifteen-year-old girl, who has been expelled from the Flemington Girls’Institute and is now working at Ashman Inn with a Linn a fellow maid who she befriends during her time at the Inn. At some point, Jennifer suffers an injury on her hand while trying to escape from the Inn but fails and is now trapped there.
Slowly, now Jennifer and Linn begin to learn about the haunting Inn and its strange residents as strange incidents occur and they must uncover its mysteries. But an ominous presence haunts Jennifer, a terrible figure whose whistle echoes through the hallways of the Inn and who is after Jennifer’s life. The Prequel’s story was not an easy web to untangle. It was a psychological-thriller which according to Chris Darril was a homage to movies like “The Shining”. Its characters were mysterious though I often felt that some aspects of their stories were just made out of nowhere to explain some other mystery in the overarching plot.
The game’s story follows the events of the Tormented Fathers and already connections can be made between the two with the return of Rosemary Reed, the playable character in the first game, and the Flemington Girls’ Institute an organization which Reed is investigating. Two other characters have been revealed as of yet for the game:
- Andreas Massino: The main housekeeper at Ashman Inn, who does not seems (As far as can be gleaned from the trailer) a very nice person. She will probably act as one of the Stalkers in the game and probably a threat to both Jennifer’s and Linn’s life.
Remothered Stalker housekeeper - Porcelain: He is a haunting figure who roams the hallways of Ashman Inn with a deadly cane, terrorizing the inhabitants of the Inn. At no point does Jennifer feel she is safe from this entity and cannot help shake the feeling that he is somewhere near. He will also act as one of the stalkers in the game.
Broken Porcelain will follow the same convoluted story style where the players will have to uncover mysteries and secrets to make sense of the chaos around them.
Remothered: Broken Porcelain Graphics & Gameplay
Remothered: Broken Porcelain sees quite a graphical upgrade compared to Tormented Fathers. It was a much-required improvement which really held back the first game. While it can be conceded that the game was made by an indie studio hence it is unfair to expect it to be on par with something like Witcher 3, still it was a huge turn off for me. That and the stiff character movements which reminded me of the old days when characters moved like cardboard boxes. I am aware that this is unfair criticism but I had to point it out. I do believe that for a small indie studio this was quite an achievement.
However, I am glad to see that Broken Porcelain as of yet shows improvement in all categories. Character movements are more fluid and the lighting effects have improved considerably (The prequel suffered from the Outlast phenomenon where everything was dark and the flashlight was crappy). The game will also reportedly feature cutscenes with motion capture,
The base gameplay will resemble the prequel but with many quality of life changes. It is yet to be seen how Jennifer will play different from Rosemary considering her small stature and agility.
The wound on her arm may also affect the gameplay, and may have an impact on how she interacts with the environment and objects. It is also not known how significant will the role be of Rosemary. Similar to Tormented Fathers the player character will have to sneak through hallways and rooms while hiding and evading from the residents (Stalkers) and uncover secrets by solving really complicated and layered puzzles and riddles. The character can hide under sofas and in cupboards to escape the Stalkers. The game also presents the player with offensive and defensive options through which the player can trick and hinder the Stalker.
Tormented Fathers allowed Reed to throw snow globes and use knives against the stalker; you could also set up traps to warn about the approaching enemy. Again it is to be expected that the studio will improve on these aspects of the game as well as work on the AI of the enemies so as to prevent them from being exploited.
Remothered: Broken Porcelain Release Date and Platform Details
Remothered: Broken Porcelain will release this year, though the release date is yet to be announced. The game will be available on PS4, XBOX ONE, PC and Nintendo Switch, and can be bought on Steam and Amazon. The game is not available on Pre-Order and its price is yet to be revealed. The game will face quite a competition considering Resident Evil 3 and Last of Us 2 is coming this year. It will be worth seeing how the game fares against these major titles.
