A survival game with a twist, this one! Trek around a harsh frozen landscape whilst building fires to stay warm and stay alive. That's the basic premise, but beneath that is a barrage of "campfire" stories that range from tales of climate change warnings, human selfishness and perhaps a sprinkle or two of hope.
As you make your way towards your final goal you are stalked by shadows and a huge beast in the sky that may or may not be real. It's another brilliantly unique game from these fine folks with little nods to their previous two games The Night Fisherman and The Outcast Lovers.
I believe the version I played may be outdated now and there may be some new additions I didn't see, but if you've played the first two games mentioned earlier then you don't need my recommendation to go and play this. If you haven't played them, I suggest you do, and then come back to this one!
Great game! It requires you to take the time to explore and make decisions along the way, but the game did not feel like a slow burn at all. I was absorbed in the game the whole time, even if I was just walking. I expected like an ambience or suspense that ramps up while you play the game, but it wasn't like that at all. But it still gives a sense of dread, and it got a couple of scares out of me. That leviathan, holy shit. Great stuff!
Please check out the video and my channel: VladMan. Thank you!
This game is amazing. Unfortunately I've had to delete it from itch as I downloaded it from Steam, but that changes nothing. This game is still amazing, as are all Far Few Giants games.
This ended up being a very profound experience that I was not expecting! A lot different from other games I've played in the past, very nice to see a unique take on the survival horror genre. Great job!
This may actually be my favorite Far Few Giants game! I loved the sacrifices series but this is just something else altogether. It's got a very strong, philosophical foundation, the imagined leviathan. And I really get the sense that the art style and sound and gameplay flow from that. Going monochrome was a bold choice but it fits the game well. It contrasts the remnants of humanity against the winter storms. Gives me the sense of loneliness and that I'm physically experience the passages narrated. There are some bugs however! When I click a life to listen to sometimes it doesn't play right away or it freezes the screen. More thoughts/ comments/ philo ramblings throughout the video and review at the end!
I've had to restart the game several times due to really hard to use controls. I've seen in videos of gameplay that there's a multiple choice option when you are burning life, but for me the buttons seem invisible and I have to blind click through them. After clicking on the pillar at Steel Henge the screen turned black, audio began to loop, and I lost all ability to control. Is this intended?
I got really excited when I saw that four-legged white creature (or am i imagining things?). It Reminded me emotionally of the suspense i felt when I encountered the invisible troll in brothers for the first time
(10:42 in vid. Link with timestamp doesn't seem to work)
Hi there! I have a Christian Gaming YouTube Channel, where I play video games and share my Christian faith. I played this game on my channel recently and loved it!!! I think the game has a pretty deep lore and I love games with deep ores/meaning. I checked out your other games too and maybe I'll play more of your games on my channel :)
I dont think I quite grasped the game, but that may be because I passed over a fair chunk accidentally. After seeing the steel henge from the hill, and noticing, "hey, the wind is coming right from that direction" I just followed the wind till I got there. I looked around, somehow never mousing over the interactable pillar(?) in the center, and then kept going, and walked off the map. I only realized I somehow missed most of the game after looking at others playthroughs, who followed the electrical wires that escaped my notice completely. In fact, only now, as I write this, am I noticing the electrical posts present in almost every image of the game on this page. The atmosphere is great, I'm glad there are very few invisible walls, and it seems like a great game for people who have good perception. (Note and suggestion, in real life, the wind is not a reliable measure for navigation. Though certainly atmospheric in this, and requiring less programming, perhaps more people would look for some landmarks if the wind changed direction at times.)
Another masterpiece by the talented Far Few Giants. The concept and visuals are great, also the tension of freezing. I still discover new stuff every time starting a new play trough. Just try it because it's worth it!
Unique! I enjoyed the poetical monochromatic fog that I was thrust in to. Wasn't entirely sure how balanced the fuel was on my first playthrough, so I had to replay to get a true ending. You would be crazy not to download while this is on sale, and if the cold embrace of frostbite and poetry is at all appealing to you, it is worth every single penny.
This was a really cool experience. Loved the inverted color usage to challenge the idea of the horror genre and I loved the unique story telling. Highly recommend playing this game! https://youtu.be/ImspT0Jrvmg
this is brilliant, easily your best one so far. With the fight nisherman and the other one the experience was nice and minimalistic and it really made me think about what elements you'd need to make an efficient interactiv estory - but somewhat seemed like it could have had more detail etc. With this one, the style is thoroughly at home. It's perfectly settled in its minimal intent and execution. Bravo to you!
On PC? You double-click the 'The Imagined Leviathan.exe' file inside the folder you downloaded :) On Mac, you just double-click the file you downloaded, then if it says it can't be opened due to security settings, you have to go to System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General and click 'Open Anyway'. Have fun!!!!!
Thank you for creating this game! The atmosphere and sound design is fantastic :) The visuals are amazing, I would love to know what shader you used in Unity to create this effect. Would love to experiment with it for my student projects.
The big secret is build something really stupidly simple and keep piling on polish until it looks impressive. I can build those forest scenes in under an hour from scratch with this artstyle.
bug report! on Mac, if I follow the tutorial instructions exactly, the game softlocks when I try to light the fire. I have tried 3 separate times, it always happens at the same moment. I have tried 2 times on the older build (0.3?) and 1 time on the most recent update.
I set up the fire with 3 fuels and kindling, I pick up the poetry, I pick up the spark, I walk over to the fire and click on it. After a left click it says "DESTROY LIFE FOR FIRE", and I can't move any more. I can move the mouse around though. Then, if I right click, it locks my mouse to the center of the screen (cursor remains visible) and I can't do anything. However, clicking left/right mouse buttons seems to alternate the iconography over the fire between [LIGHTER] + [LIFE] and just [LIFE].
I have a stylus/tablet plugged in, but I am using a regular mouse and keyboard.
Thanks for the really detailed report droqen, it's really strange that you're seeing this on the main path. Can I check this is on your first playthrough from boot and not on a restart?
de Fault uses a Mac so we will investigate and hopefully have a fix up on Monday 🤞
Any news on this issue? Still waiting for Monday ;-)... Tried to play it yesterday again and still the same... Running Mac (Intel) Monterey 12.5.1 now.
I'm terrible at survival games but this was a bunch of fun took me a bit but I made it to the obsidian stone I'm wondering if the ending depends on what message you use on the obsidian stone. I also doubt I found every message I only found 5. Also if your carrying the kindling around it does get where you can't drop it unless you already have sticks Dope game though my full play through here:
thank you! We're addressing that bug at the moment, thanks for calling it out!
There's a hand full of messages in the game atm, you probably found all of them, we recorded a few more, they may get patched in next week to improve replayability.
Thank you so much for the coverage, can't wait to watch it!
So i had some bugs in the game, collected all the stuff for bonfire but I couldn't drop them ... the cursor was stuck and none of the keys helped change anything
Hello... That was about it, the only thing I could do is to restart and quit game... None of the keys worked, it just got stuck .. Tell me, do you have to pick things in predefined order or is it random? Maybe that is the issue here ...
there's a known bug if you have 5 objects in your hand. We'll be pushing an update this weekend. What do you mean the cursor was stuck, was it in the pause menu?
Just played this through a couple times. I thought I was being railroaded a bit the first time, but the second run was different enough that I feel like I need a few more plays to really get the full experience. It's good!
Thanks! Yeah it's just the tutorial that's linear, after that you can go whichever way. There's plenty to discover if you're brave enough to venture into the whiteout!
I'm curious, has your cat's skin small hair/fuzz or none at all? I'm afraid stroking it would be like touching warm dead meat, I can't imagine if it's pleasant or not. The camouflage jacket is neat.
A small amount of fuzz, and very soft. It's more like touching someone's cheek, or neck or something, it's actually very pleasant! 10/10 recommended wrinkledemon
← Return to narrative survival
Comments
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Very different
I enjoyed it very much
I like this game: It's very interesting. Congratulations
Please, make a 32 bit version!
Windows or macOS?
Windows
Made you a build ;) It's also deployed on Steam, reviews there help us out a lot!
A survival game with a twist, this one! Trek around a harsh frozen landscape whilst building fires to stay warm and stay alive. That's the basic premise, but beneath that is a barrage of "campfire" stories that range from tales of climate change warnings, human selfishness and perhaps a sprinkle or two of hope.
As you make your way towards your final goal you are stalked by shadows and a huge beast in the sky that may or may not be real. It's another brilliantly unique game from these fine folks with little nods to their previous two games The Night Fisherman and The Outcast Lovers.
I believe the version I played may be outdated now and there may be some new additions I didn't see, but if you've played the first two games mentioned earlier then you don't need my recommendation to go and play this. If you haven't played them, I suggest you do, and then come back to this one!
Thanks Mikey! It's a great feeling when people really *get* the games :)
Great game! It requires you to take the time to explore and make decisions along the way, but the game did not feel like a slow burn at all. I was absorbed in the game the whole time, even if I was just walking. I expected like an ambience or suspense that ramps up while you play the game, but it wasn't like that at all. But it still gives a sense of dread, and it got a couple of scares out of me. That leviathan, holy shit. Great stuff!
Please check out the video and my channel: VladMan.
Thank you!
Great vid, thanks :)
I really like your game
and here's a video where I mentioned ur game and commented about it:
This game is amazing. Unfortunately I've had to delete it from itch as I downloaded it from Steam, but that changes nothing. This game is still amazing, as are all Far Few Giants games.
Hey thank you :)
The game is very cool
HOLY CRAP STEAM LAUNCH? already? [insert happy emotion]
I kept freezing to death BUT it is one of the most enjoyable games to keep dying on
This ended up being a very profound experience that I was not expecting! A lot different from other games I've played in the past, very nice to see a unique take on the survival horror genre. Great job!
You dm'd me and I came thruuuu.
This may actually be my favorite Far Few Giants game! I loved the sacrifices series but this is just something else altogether. It's got a very strong, philosophical foundation, the imagined leviathan. And I really get the sense that the art style and sound and gameplay flow from that. Going monochrome was a bold choice but it fits the game well. It contrasts the remnants of humanity against the winter storms. Gives me the sense of loneliness and that I'm physically experience the passages narrated. There are some bugs however! When I click a life to listen to sometimes it doesn't play right away or it freezes the screen. More thoughts/ comments/ philo ramblings throughout the video and review at the end!
I've had to restart the game several times due to really hard to use controls. I've seen in videos of gameplay that there's a multiple choice option when you are burning life, but for me the buttons seem invisible and I have to blind click through them. After clicking on the pillar at Steel Henge the screen turned black, audio began to loop, and I lost all ability to control. Is this intended?
hi my pc is not good not strong so i just want to change the resoulotion i dont know how pls help
Maybe go to setting in the game and press full screen
We had a fun time.
nice! I enjoyed it :)
I got really excited when I saw that four-legged white creature (or am i imagining things?). It Reminded me emotionally of the suspense i felt when I encountered the invisible troll in brothers for the first time
(10:42 in vid. Link with timestamp doesn't seem to work)
This game is... Confusing...
But the graphic and the game mechanics (right hand/left hand/movement) are alright :)
How do you destroy life on a Mac?
In the process of creating a Mac, it has already happened.
Comment of the day.
Hi there! I have a Christian Gaming YouTube Channel, where I play video games and share my Christian faith. I played this game on my channel recently and loved it!!! I think the game has a pretty deep lore and I love games with deep ores/meaning. I checked out your other games too and maybe I'll play more of your games on my channel :)
Please play the legendary Life's Battle
https://www.somethingawful.com/game-reviews/lifes-battle/1/
I dont think I quite grasped the game, but that may be because I passed over a fair chunk accidentally. After seeing the steel henge from the hill, and noticing, "hey, the wind is coming right from that direction" I just followed the wind till I got there. I looked around, somehow never mousing over the interactable pillar(?) in the center, and then kept going, and walked off the map. I only realized I somehow missed most of the game after looking at others playthroughs, who followed the electrical wires that escaped my notice completely. In fact, only now, as I write this, am I noticing the electrical posts present in almost every image of the game on this page. The atmosphere is great, I'm glad there are very few invisible walls, and it seems like a great game for people who have good perception. (Note and suggestion, in real life, the wind is not a reliable measure for navigation. Though certainly atmospheric in this, and requiring less programming, perhaps more people would look for some landmarks if the wind changed direction at times.)
P.S. Yes, I realize I am small brain.
We intend for you to follow the wind.
very nice game!! Loved this!!!!!
Thank you so much Kuri!
Another masterpiece by the talented Far Few Giants. The concept and visuals are great, also the tension of freezing. I still discover new stuff every time starting a new play trough. Just try it because it's worth it!
Unique! I enjoyed the poetical monochromatic fog that I was thrust in to. Wasn't entirely sure how balanced the fuel was on my first playthrough, so I had to replay to get a true ending. You would be crazy not to download while this is on sale, and if the cold embrace of frostbite and poetry is at all appealing to you, it is worth every single penny.
Yeah the RNG could maybe do with some tweaking, glad you enjoyed it though!
LOVED this. I was actually duped into thinking this was something that it wasn't and that is just a testiment to the spot-on work on the atmosphere.
Great play through, Eric. Loved your commentary :)
The game's dope
You're dope
i saw it and then i quit
i hate being observant, also i am now having nightmares. overall one of the best games on itch.io
GOTCHA
i mean like the first time you can see it. it's silhouette kinda reminded me of a demogorgon from stranger things
Great game 9/10 would play more of it if more was made.
Thanks! We'll see about that...
This was a really cool experience. Loved the inverted color usage to challenge the idea of the horror genre and I loved the unique story telling. Highly recommend playing this game! https://youtu.be/ImspT0Jrvmg
<3
Thanks for making it, it was fantastic
this is brilliant, easily your best one so far. With the fight nisherman and the other one the experience was nice and minimalistic and it really made me think about what elements you'd need to make an efficient interactiv estory - but somewhat seemed like it could have had more detail etc. With this one, the style is thoroughly at home. It's perfectly settled in its minimal intent and execution. Bravo to you!
Awww shucks <3 Thanks for your kind words!
how do you play the game. I download it and now I dont know how to actually start it
On PC? You double-click the 'The Imagined Leviathan.exe' file inside the folder you downloaded :) On Mac, you just double-click the file you downloaded, then if it says it can't be opened due to security settings, you have to go to System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General and click 'Open Anyway'. Have fun!!!!!
im on a windows 10 PC. I went to my folder and downloads and clicked the imagined leviathan WIN folder. what would I do next?
Inside that folder, double-click 'The Imagined Leviathan.exe' :)
Thank you for creating this game! The atmosphere and sound design is fantastic :)
The visuals are amazing, I would love to know what shader you used in Unity to create this effect. Would love to experiment with it for my student projects.
Depends how complicated you want to get with it, my original inktober renders were unlit, I discuss it here:
https://twitter.com/animtree/status/1290597942496305155?s=19
Now I'm using a simple 'up vector mask' for the snow shader on all the rocks. There's plenty of examples of this available online.
The terrain shader is by Flatkit which gives me pure black shadows, but I still want to build my own solution and improve upon it eventually.
We were discussing the shadows over here https://twitter.com/csims314/status/1299853959386009607?s=19
Really appreciate the reply! The game looks and feels fantastic, you have done something great here :)
The big secret is build something really stupidly simple and keep piling on polish until it looks impressive. I can build those forest scenes in under an hour from scratch with this artstyle.
bug report! on Mac, if I follow the tutorial instructions exactly, the game softlocks when I try to light the fire. I have tried 3 separate times, it always happens at the same moment. I have tried 2 times on the older build (0.3?) and 1 time on the most recent update.
I set up the fire with 3 fuels and kindling, I pick up the poetry, I pick up the spark, I walk over to the fire and click on it. After a left click it says "DESTROY LIFE FOR FIRE", and I can't move any more. I can move the mouse around though. Then, if I right click, it locks my mouse to the center of the screen (cursor remains visible) and I can't do anything. However, clicking left/right mouse buttons seems to alternate the iconography over the fire between [LIGHTER] + [LIFE] and just [LIFE].
I have a stylus/tablet plugged in, but I am using a regular mouse and keyboard.
Thanks for the really detailed report droqen, it's really strange that you're seeing this on the main path. Can I check this is on your first playthrough from boot and not on a restart?
de Fault uses a Mac so we will investigate and hopefully have a fix up on Monday 🤞
The same is happening to me also in MAC. I'm running macOS Catalina 10.15.6
Thank you for your hard work.
Any news on this issue? Still waiting for Monday ;-)... Tried to play it yesterday again and still the same... Running Mac (Intel) Monterey 12.5.1 now.
I'm terrible at survival games but this was a bunch of fun took me a bit but I made it to the obsidian stone I'm wondering if the ending depends on what message you use on the obsidian stone. I also doubt I found every message I only found 5. Also if your carrying the kindling around it does get where you can't drop it unless you already have sticks Dope game though my full play through here:
thank you! We're addressing that bug at the moment, thanks for calling it out!
There's a hand full of messages in the game atm, you probably found all of them, we recorded a few more, they may get patched in next week to improve replayability.
Thank you so much for the coverage, can't wait to watch it!
Thanks for making it and reaching out again really appreciate it :D
No problem!
The message you bring with you matters.
NICE!!!
So i had some bugs in the game, collected all the stuff for bonfire but I couldn't drop them ... the cursor was stuck and none of the keys helped change anything
Hi, do you have any more information that would help us reproduce the bug?
Hello... That was about it, the only thing I could do is to restart and quit game...
None of the keys worked, it just got stuck .. Tell me, do you have to pick things in predefined order or is it random? Maybe that is the issue here ...
there's a known bug if you have 5 objects in your hand. We'll be pushing an update this weekend. What do you mean the cursor was stuck, was it in the pause menu?
Just played this through a couple times. I thought I was being railroaded a bit the first time, but the second run was different enough that I feel like I need a few more plays to really get the full experience. It's good!
Thanks! Yeah it's just the tutorial that's linear, after that you can go whichever way. There's plenty to discover if you're brave enough to venture into the whiteout!
Your games are always so beautiful! I love this so much
Hmm yes but can you smooch horrific upside-down alien corpse flowers in them? No. You win again!
Haha I appreciate that, and will accept this righteous victory with aplomb!! I really look forward to what you come up with next!!
Have a bald cat, am British, can confirm
I'm curious, has your cat's skin small hair/fuzz or none at all? I'm afraid stroking it would be like touching warm dead meat, I can't imagine if it's pleasant or not. The camouflage jacket is neat.
A small amount of fuzz, and very soft. It's more like touching someone's cheek, or neck or something, it's actually very pleasant! 10/10 recommended wrinkledemon
Thanks for the info! I'll stroke one if I ever meet one :-)
Looks very interesting. Getting a The Long Dark vibe. Are there any plans on adding linux support?
Sorry no plans for Linux on the cards because we can't ensure a bug-free experience on it.