Indie Experimental Hybrid-RPG THE DONNERWALD EXPERIMENT Launches On Steam Early Access

In my line of work, I watch a shit-ton of trailers. I’m not complaining, it’s still far better than having a real job. I’ve just gotten exceptionally good at figuring out how to breakdown a game based on 2-3 minutes of gameplay. Generally, this comes in the form of, “this game looks like such and such other game.” In the case of The Donnerwald Experiment, my immediate impression was that it looks like a spooky Paper Mario. Which is good, since Paper Mario is the shit. Hopefully, The Donnerwald Experiment is also the shit.

This is a weird article to write, as I know almost nothing about The Donnerwalkd Experiment. It just dropped on Steam Early Access today, and is just the first chapter of a promised five-chapter series. I got an email from the devs about it, which does little to explain the game. Seriously, I’m not being hyperbolic. Here’s the Full Press Release:

The Donnerwald Experiment is the story about Johanna Prokuri, a scientist who lost her creativity due to a terminal disease known as the Mare Noctem.

The Donnerwald Experiment features an interactive combat system with action commands, as well as many characters, all with their own goals, fears and dreams.

The Donnerwald Experiment is currently available in Early Access and it will remain like that for 12 months. The full version will contain 5 chapters which will expand the plot of the game.

I don’t mean to sound negative. This is clearly an indie passion project. You can do a hell of a lot worse with $8 than support someone’s dreams. Especially when those dreams seem like a fun and interesting new take on the genre. The Donnerwald Experiment‘s Steam store page does a bit more to elaborate, stating you can build and fight battle machines, and that a branching plot tree will allow you to see the game from different perspectives. The goals sound lofty, but are all broken down with this handy infographic.

So does the game look perfectly polished? No way. But as the name implies, The Donnerwald Experiment is an experiment. So why not take a walk out of your comfort zone and try out something different? If you give it a shot, let me know what you thought in the comments!