Spirits of Baciu – The Deception, a puzzle adventure about a lost cat-like spirit from developer and publisher Horns Level Up Games, will officially launch a Kickstarter campaign on September 28th, 2023, according to a Twitter post from Labor Day.

Spirits of Baciu has previously released a free prologue, which sets up the premise. A little spirit wakes up in the haunted Hoia Baciu forest, and must collect clues to discover how they arrived. Players will need to heed the details in each environment, conversation, and sound to solve puzzles.

Spirits of Baciu will be available on PC, and there’s currently no word on a console release. You can watch the prologue gameplay teaser on the developer’s official YouTube channel:

The game’s official Steam page mentions “hand drawing graphic”, which appears to be a loosely translated hint that the environments are hand-drawn. This would not surprise me.

Spirits of Baciu – The Prologue has some of the most inventive and engaging environments that I’ve ever stumbled upon. The rustic textures and careful lighting create a remarkable sense of ancient history, surrealism, and mystery.

That’s fortunate, since Spirits of Baciu – Deception will likely play very much like the prologue, where your surroundings are essential. The demo gameplay mostly concentrates on patient, attentive interaction with a variety of characters and settings.

Some might be opposed to the point-and-click genre, and most negative responses to the prologue mention the UI. Also, the puzzles could be as unforgiving as the forest for some, due to both UI and difficulty. But Spirits of Baciu – Deception has an opportunity to tidy up these concerns.

There’s a lot of promise in the world of Spirits of Baciu, particularly in the sheer level of strangeness that it conjures. The Kickstarter campaign couldn’t be more timely, as the Halloween season approaches.

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