Inkle, the renowned studio responsible for well-received titles like Heaven’s Vault and last year’s A Highland Song, has just unveiled its latest creation, The Forever Labyrinth. This browser-based narrative adventure, offered for free, immerses players in a captivating journey through the entire history of art from around the globe.
Developed in collaboration with the Google Arts & Culture initiative, The Forever Labyrinth plunges players into a dynamic maze of rooms, each transforming into diverse landscapes such as serene gardens, clifftops, forests, and cellars. The objective is to locate Professor Sheldrake, a friend lost within the intricate network of mysterious interlinking passageways.
These passageways manifest as paintings and art sourced from the collections of renowned museums eager to share their treasures in innovative online ways, as highlighted in the press release.
As players explore each room, collecting clues and identifying elements within the artwork becomes crucial for navigating the labyrinth successfully. The ultimate goal is to find their friend, provided they can evade the relentless monster devouring the world.
Inkle describes The Forever Labyrinth as a “replayable rogue-like adventure,” noting that a typical playthrough lasts around 20 minutes. However, players interested in unraveling all the secrets hidden within the labyrinth must embark on multiple journeys, as suggested by the developer. To facilitate this, a save system is in place to document players’ progress.
Based on a relatively brief playthrough, The Forever Labyrinth appears to be an enticing experience infused with Inkle’s signature charm. It offers a unique opportunity to encounter artwork not typically within one’s purview and follows closely on the heels of last year’s A Highland Song, a title that Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell praised as “a magical sonnet hidden beneath a game” in his four out of five reviews.
