Cellar
William Rous · 2022 · Story Rich, Atmospheric, Dark, Adventure, Interactive Fiction
PC
5 user reviews100% · 5
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About Cellar
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CELLAR - six strangers and a machine.
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James wakes up in a small room with a naked bulb and a sink that doesn't work.
He's inside the facility. Remote, underground, isolated.
One of only six, he's been hired as part of an inexperienced skeleton crew. All of them are new to the job. And although each has a different reason for it, they've all chosen the isolation.
The base is dark, dank, and full of things that don't look like they should be there. And at the heart of it all is one machine, a glowing screen with a grid of numbers and two buttons. They're not told what it's for, only that it must be kept running, at all times of day, for a month. And that's it.
30 days of solitude, tasks, and other people.
Welcome to CELLAR.
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CELLAR is a story-focused game that takes place over 30 days, lasting around eight hours of gameplay. Events, character movements and dialogue are all unique and carefully crafted for each day.
Gameplay is split between story events and carrying out a series of simple tasks, although CELLAR also goes further by including story events that change gameplay in unconventional manners.
The game world is interactable and full of secrets, and the dialogue is down to earth, amusing and intimate. CELLAR explores our relationship with our surroundings, the effects of solitude, and the unlikely bonds that form between us.
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Take your time. The game won't start without you.
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CELLAR is the first game by solo developer William Rous. Contains strong language. Trailer by Edward Rous.
CELLAR - six strangers and a machine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
James wakes up in a small room with a naked bulb and a sink that doesn't work.
He's inside the facility. Remote, underground, isolated.
One of only six, he's been hired as part of an inexperienced skeleton crew. All of them are new to the job. And although each has a different reason for it, they've all chosen the isolation.
The base is dark, dank, and full of things that don't look like they should be there. And at the heart of it all is one machine, a glowing screen with a grid of numbers and two buttons. They're not told what it's for, only that it must be kept running, at all times of day, for a month. And that's it.
30 days of solitude, tasks, and other people.
Welcome to CELLAR.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CELLAR is a story-focused game that takes place over 30 days, lasting around eight hours of gameplay. Events, character movements and dialogue are all unique and carefully crafted for each day.
Gameplay is split between story events and carrying out a series of simple tasks, although CELLAR also goes further by including story events that change gameplay in unconventional manners.
The game world is interactable and full of secrets, and the dialogue is down to earth, amusing and intimate. CELLAR explores our relationship with our surroundings, the effects of solitude, and the unlikely bonds that form between us.
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Features
- Talking about nothing
- Walking in circles
- Getting on with things
- Not getting on with things
- Awkward silence
- Using the machine
- Trying to make a joke
- Don't know how to play piano
- Sitting down for a bit
- Listening politely
- Getting back up again
- Going to sleep
- Waking up at 3am because someone set off the alarm
- Waiting for the end
Take your time. The game won't start without you.
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CELLAR is the first game by solo developer William Rous. Contains strong language. Trailer by Edward Rous.
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
After playing the brilliant "Type Help" browser game by William Rous I searched for other work. "Finished the game"...to be honest a bit confused at the end about the why, but the game does set the right vibes for being stuck in a cellar with 5 strangers :) doing menial tasks. I still wonder if scrubbing that oven was worth my while :D. Definitely will keep my eye out for what comes next from this developer as he seems full of original ideas !2 found this helpful
It's very hard to recommend this game. If you know what you're getting into, I believe you can judge for yourself, if you're up for it or not. First and foremost: The story is intriguing and it is what has kept me going. I want to understand where I am, learn more about who I'm locked-in with and watch the different personalities cope with their situation. I love it and I'm hooked! But... The gameplay is a drag. Purposefully, I assume, to make the player feel the same emotions the characters must feel. Mundane and meaningless chores while waiting for your turn on the machine, which in itself is nothing to look forward to, will eventually make the player feel irritated and annoyed at the game itself. Handling the machine is a nightmare. The counter ticks down quickly and mistakes are penalised harshly. Getting back from a drop down to red with sirens going in the background is stressful. In fact, I never understood why NPCs would call their time on the machine boring - personally, I found it intense but not in a fun way. While playing Cellar, I noticed I was begging for an underlying story to unravel. Hidden puzzles for the player to find to help uncover the mystery of this pla…1 found this helpful
One of the best games I've played in a long while. Everything in Cellar is so precise. The long pauses between each line of dialogue, the different points at which characters choose to reveal (or not reveal) more about their lives outside, everything is tuned to create the sort of tension between paranoia and trust that can quickly develop in isolation. Fair warning, its a game at least partially about mundanity and the psychological effect it can have on people, so go into this expecting less fun mystery like Type Help and more of a purposefully drab experience like a SOMA or Pathologic. I used to work in a packing barn in the middle of nowhere for one month out of the year, and this game really captured that sense of repetition rotting your brain along with quickly becoming very close friends with people I'd probably never talk to normally. A great reflection on torturous isolation can be, and how even a bunch of strangers can be enough to get us though it. This having 6 reviews on Steam is a crime. It's literally free, try it out y'all.1 found this helpful
Really enjoying it. Eerie atmosphere.1 found this helpful
This is a damn good game. My eyes and ears hurt and I'm sick of chores. 10/10 cant wait for what they do next1 found this helpful
TRY AGAIN OPEN YOUR EYES TALK TO NO ONE CLOSE YOUR MIND
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