ESC is a free text-based adventure video game wherein you dive into the simulation of an old network. Developed by Radical Dreamland, this indie visual novel is an interactive fiction story that features two character perspectives, abstract graphics, a typing gameplay of sorts, and hours of immersive storytelling. This game was created by a dream team of talented developers well-loved in the indie game community. Note that it has some resolution issues, though.

A story worth reading

ESC revolves around two characters: Raine, a role-player in the old text-based world of the VerdaMUCK chatroom network; and The Navigator, a mysterious individual who’s running a scandalous publication about mind data hacking and the conspiracies surrounding it. At first, it’s not too obvious who are the main protagonists. However, the scenes will often switch back and forth between Raine’s fantasy role-playing with her friends and the Navigator’s editorial pieces about their adventures. 

The game plays out like you’re accessing VerdaMUCK and the futuristic virtual Cerenet that’s basically the internet accessible by your brain. In Raine’s role-playing, you’re pretty much just reading up old archives about what she and her friends did. You can’t choose your actions as Raine is her person—all you have to do is press any key to continue. Even in the Navigator’s logs, you’re simply a reader eager for their juicy gossip.

This lack of actual player input is what’s fascinating about this game. It warns you that you’re only reliving old memories of other users, but you're still trying to piece together what’s happening to the world around them. Accompanied by glitch art graphics, an amazing soundtrack, and atmospheric sound effects, the writing makes for an immersive read. Being entirely contained in the text makes you yearn to see just what their world looks like.

Get lost in the text

All in all, ESC is a fantastic indie interactive fiction game. It is almost like a cyberspace detective story, which features two characters who pull you in. The only issues with it are its constant resolution bugs, such as the sizes scaling oddly at fullscreen mode and the game running super slow on some devices. However, these can be fixed and doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment that this game genuinely brings.