PAX West 2024 was fantastic this year, featuring the highest ratio of fantastic indie games that I’ve seen anywhere in quite some time. And, as always, publisher Serenity Forge was out in spades, showcasing gems like Keylocker, Roman Sands RE:Build, and — the topic of this interview — Hack the Publisher’s Centum. Of those, both Keylocker and Roman Sands RE:Build had quite chunky demos that I had a good chance to play before PAX, but Centum? PAX West was the first chance I got to experience Centum.
And let me just say: Serenity Forge continues its essentially perfect record with this one. What a treat for fans of horror, for fans of point-and-click adventures, for fans of art in games… Just an all-around treat. It took me about 20 minutes to play through the first playable demo of the game at the Serenity Forge booth (and I was actually the first person to get to play it at PAX), and I was captivated the entire time.
From extraordinary art direction, to unorthodox and captivating storytelling, to an obvious appreciation to detail, Centum is the kind of “escape room” game that all future games featuring “escape” should aspire to be,...
