Palinurus 1.0

Visual novels are one of the most popular genres for indie developers to make games for, due to there being a fantastic free engine out there that helps people easily make visual novels, as well as the low amount of resources required relative to other genres. As a result, indie developers need to do something unique in this genre to stand out. Palinurus tackles this with a unique premise.

To install Palinurus, make sure you have Steam installed and then head on over to this link to install it.

The premise is simple and bleak. You play as a captain of a one-man space shuttle destined for Alpha Centauri. The shuttle is piloted by Budapest, an artificial intelligence. However, an unknown disaster sends the ship sprawling into uncharted space, making it nearly impossible for them to be rescued. As they have no contact with anyone but each other, the person and AI begin interacting and the AI steadily grows beyond her programming.

It's not a long game - this game was made in only 2 weeks, after all. But it's incredibly touching all the same. Watching the AI go through an emotional awakening and rapidly develop her own personality is as touching as much as it is a bit sad, as it took certain doom for her to awaken. This builds up all the way until the heartbreaking ending.

Palinurus is an incredibly short game but a solid one, and if you're looking for something to help you skip an hour of your life or so, this is a fantastic option.