Amanda the Adventurer programmed for April 25 launch

Demo for found footage-style VHS horror puzzler available on Steam for Windows PC

Old children's TV shows tend to fill us with warm feelings of nostalgia for the simpler days of our youth. Usually, anyway. The one in MANGLEDmaw Games' upcoming found footage-style horror puzzler Amanda the Adventurer is sure to give off a whole different vibe when it arrives next month on PC.

Assuming the first-person role of Riley Park, you inherit a house from your recently deceased reclusive Aunt Kate. Exploring the attic, you discover "a stack of VHS tapes next to an old TV set." With no identifiable markings on them, you pop a tape in to discover a locally made kid's cartoon from the early 2000s that you don't recognize. At first it appears to be a charming, wholesome edutainment-style show starring "a plucky little girl named Amanda and her loyal yet shy best friend, Wooly the Sheep." Before long, however, it becomes clear that the characters can communicate directly with you, and that you can interact with the program itself. Amanda, who shows a reckless disregard for safety despite Wooly's protests, seems to need something only you can provide, so you'd best "do everything Amanda says or she might get angry."

While part of this "short yet intricate single player horror experience" takes place in Aunt Kate's house, explored via keyboard/mouse controls, much of the action involves you interacting directly with the TV show itself, which is presented in a period-appropriate CGI style that "recalls a simpler era of animation." There you'll be tasked with answering simple questions to move the cartoon forward and yield clues needed to solve the more challenging "escape-room style puzzles" that appear within the house. Only by playing along can you hope to discover where these tapes came from and "what lies beneath the friendly and colorful facade of Amanda the Adventurer." The further you progress, however, the more you'll find yourself wondering whether "the price you will pay [is] worth the answers you seek."

Amanda the Adventurer isn't far off, with a target release date of April 25th on Steam for Windows PC. In the meantime, a playable demo is available to give players a first taste (literally in this case) of what to expect from the full game.