Once upon a time, the only video game that could be described as a “edutainment survival horror” happened to be Roger Ebert’s favorite. Now, through the funhouse of nostalgia, vaporware and ghosts of the computer room, it’s taken on a micro genre all its own. Though the educational value is disputable. Endacopia, a new surreal horror adventure game, isn’t under any pretense of being “lost media,” instead occupying the strange void between bygone CD ROMs.
In Endacopia, you come to as Mellow, a pale, googly eyed baseball cap boy rendered in nascent computer orbs. You’re trapped in the house of Henry, a hulking sallow beast who has a habit of clubbing you over the head, which may explain your illiteracy and overall amnesia. Between you and freedom are light hearted logic puzzles and dark realm creatures. It takes only a few clicks and picks to peel back the whimsical facade for some unnerving visions.
Created by Picayune Dreams developer Andyland, Endacopia is an adventure game taking much of its design philosophy from Putt-Putt Goes To The Moon. Solutions to any given puzzle are hidden in a tapestry of loopy-land animations that spring to life from a click. Behind most doors is a smiley face, a mini-game or a funny noise, but around a few corners is something long and eldritch. You’ll also have to survive a few surprisingly viscous Punch-Out!!-like combat sequences.
Endacopia joins an increasingly growing sub-genre of games made by people traumatized by school computer lab games. Maybe they shared a nightmare with Pajama Sam, were startled by 3-D Body Adventure or deeply disliked the idea of Fatty Bear slinking around their childhood kitchen in the dead of night. Baldi’s Basics, Amanda the Adventurer and Forbidden Solitaire work under the shtick of unearthed, cursed pieces of software. What separates Endacopia is that it seems to operate in its own void. An elevated space defined by the rules of childhood games but occupied by uninvited nightmares.