Athanasy (NSP, XCI) ROM

Athanasy is a visual novel computer game developed by game studio Wirion and published by 7DOTS. The game was released on the Itch.io platform on January 22, 2022, followed by a release on the digital distribution platform Steam on April 13, 2022, released on Nintendo Switch on June 29, 2023, published by Valkyrie Initiative.

According to the developers, one of the main features of the game is that it belongs to a specific subgenre of cyberpunk – “ biopunk ”. Hidden beneath Earth’s surface lies “the City,” humanity’s final sanctuary. A marvel of engineering, this colossal structure combines steel, concrete, and biopolymers.

Nameless yet iconic, it lacks the vibrant bloom of lilies and the radiant touch of sunlight. No gentle breezes carry their freshness, nor can the melodies of birds be heard. Within this subterranean labyrinth of narrow streets, Josiah Kaviani, a brilliant mathematician and statistician, embarks on a solitary journey. Despite his remarkable talent and intellect, an unbearable loneliness plagues him.

However, destiny beckons, as Josiah is about to encounter an entity concealed in the unfathomable depths untouched even by the City’s horrors—a secret so perilous that mere knowledge of it could prove deadly. Something monstrous awaits, poised to transform Josiah’s life and shatter the confines of his existence.

GAMEPLAY

The game is a visual novel written in the Ren’Py game engine. The plot is conveyed using static images with rare animation, accompanied by text. From time to time, the player is asked to choose from several fixed options for actions or remarks in a conversation, each of which can affect the further development of events. The game’s narrative is non-linear and, depending on the choices made by the player, can lead to different endings. The developers mean to repeatedly play through the game to get all the endings – for this, the game has a function of forwarding already-seen plot passages.

PLOT

The game takes place in the post-apocalyptic setting of the underground City – the last refuge of humanity. The mysterious Violet Death has turned the surface of the Earth into an uninhabitable and inaccessible wasteland, and the last remaining people are forced to survive in the harsh conditions of a confined space under the vigilant supervision of six Ministries. Life in the City is maintained with the help of automatic factories, nicknamed Machines of Grace and Love.

A religious cult of worship of these machines flourishes among the population, as the only thing that keeps humanity from complete extinction. It is in the operation of these machines that the main character of the game, Josiah Kaviani, discovers inconsistencies. Having received a job offer from one of the Ministries, Josiah tries to uncover the source of the missing resources needed to feed the growing population.

The development of events depends on the decisions made by the player. Josiah can abandon the investigation and live a quiet life, reaching high places in the hierarchy of the Ministry; he can join a group of revolutionaries – Non-Resistance – and get to the bottom of what is happening in the City; or Josiah may make a mistake and end up in the terrible world of formless flesh located under the City and called Hell.

After opening several endings, the player can collect a complete picture from fragments of information: in fact, the City is a former scientific center, one of the objects of study which were robotic nanosurgeons with unprecedented capabilities for treating the human body. An experiment that got out of control led to the spread of unwanted, unstoppable, and highly contagious immortality – Athanasia, because of which the entire scientific complex had to be isolated from the outside world.

ENDINGS

There are a total of nine endings available in the game:

• Conformist – Kaviani refuses to take part in events, gets carried away with his career, reaches the post of head of the department, and ends his life in a bath for producing amrita in the Upper Laboratories.
• Minister Kaviani – after a series of betrayals and controversial decisions, Kaviani ends up in the Cabinet of Ministers, and then rises to the post of Minister of Demography.
• Alone under the bright sun – if Kaviani comes to the Upper Laboratories as an employee of the Cabinet of Ministers, then he can persuade the Engineers to release only him from under the dome, after first surviving the procedure of purification from nanosurgeons.
• Adam and Eve – if Kaviani comes to the Upper Laboratories as a member of the Non-Resistance, then he can negotiate with the Engineers so that only he and Polianna are released from under the dome (after clearing them of nanosurgeons).
• Liberation – having learned the whole truth from the diaries, Kaviani hastily sends the diaries to citizens and turns on the elevators between the City and Hell. The flesh bursts out of the caves and takes over the City.
• Polymer Lake – For doing “wrong” things, Kaviani is captured and thrown into a polymer pit, where he dissolves to serve as materials for the City.
• Synthesis – Kaviani trusts Gulo too much and becomes another head in his collection.
• Demon – having met Bitterness, Kaviani is imbued with her ideas and leads the uprising of Hell. Capturing the City and turning it into a garden of flesh.
• Red Grass – Having learned the whole truth with the help of Peter “Glaucon” and his diaries, Kaviani climbs out from under the dome, infecting the planet’s biosphere with nanosurgeons.

KEY FEATURES

• Immerse yourself in a masterfully crafted, unexplored world.
• Unleash your fears through a chilling, realistic science fiction narrative.
• Encounter complex, mature characters with their own desires, ambitions, and hidden pasts.
• Confront a multitude of difficult choices that may lead to unexpected outcomes.
• Experience a range of endings, spanning from grim to dire.
• Immerse yourself in a bloodcurdling, atmospheric soundtrack composed exclusively for the game.
• Track your progress in a special art gallery designed to showcase your achievements.
• Note that while some of the author’s darker and crueler concepts were censored, most have been preserved.