Demo for RUNT emerges from hiding on Steam

• Announcements by Sam Amiotte-Beaulieu
• Published:

Complete post-apocalyptic visual novel-styled adventure coming this year to Windows PC

You’d think an apocalyptic event that left the world without power, shrouded in darkness and populated only by animal-humanoid mutations would be rock bottom, but in the upcoming RUNT by two-person developer Grimtaste Studios, it turns out that’s just the start of your troubles. 

For ten years, the sky has been black and “humanity no longer the apex predator.” You play 19-year old Runt Strayer, the youngest of five brothers representing the “last surviving sons of a dead cult leader who once called himself the Mouth of God.” The Strayer brothers have declared themselves the protectors of a small-town community of survivors called Skipclaw in the middle of what was once the United States. In order to survive against strange new creatures that have emerged from the darkness, the townsfolk must “stay in the light, cover their skin, and hide their faces behind masks.” 

Your eldest brother, Hunter, rules with an iron fist to maintain the safety of the “townies” living in Skipclaw – or at least, so he claims. Your other brothers Tanner, Carver, and Fisher all perform their own functions to keep things running. (Unfortunately, they all hate you, for one reason or another.) On the fifth anniversary of your father’s death, you and your brothers discover a grisly message written in blood in the makeshift church where he once preached: “5 Days.” It seems like a warning, a “promise,” but with no idea what it means or who left it, you must now “investigate the omen before the fifth day arrives, and choose who to accuse” of desecrating the family’s holy ground.

Described as a “rural gothic mystery” with a “mature story,” RUNT pulls no punches with its bleak setting and themes (and language). Presented largely as a point-and-click visual novel blending original “photographs and hand-painted art,” the game gives you five days to investigate each of your brothers and learn about their motivations and secrets, in between getting to know the various masked townspeople who call Skipclaw home. Each day you choose from different locations in and around town, where you’ll converse with the locals. You have limited “free time” in between daily patrol shifts with one of your brothers, however, so the places you pick and the order you select them are important, all while staying ever vigilant not to run afoul of one of the lurking “Twisters” waiting to feed on unsuspecting weaklings. 

During dialogue, you’ll get various options for how to respond and your choices affect how individuals react and perceive you. While much of your time will be spent clicking through voiceless conversations, there will also be a variety of other puzzles and chores (or “bespoke manual labor vignettes”)  to accomplish on occasion, such as finding your map, flashlight and journal and from a pile of random junk. The journal helps you keep track of vital information, and will eventually include a mind map to let you begin drawing connections from the information you uncover. Through the choices and deductions you make, along with the accusation you make on the final day as to who is responsible for the ominous message, you’ll see “one of over a dozen endings” that reflect your decisions and particular play style.

Anyone brave enough to step into the fascinating yet horrific world of RUNT can play through the intro and first full day via the playable demo available on Steam for Windows PC. There is no definite release date currently, but you can expect to uncover the full mortifying mystery sometime later this year.