Sclera

Sclera is a session-based game of random encounters, turn-based combat and interactive horror fiction. Its scripted events and stories sit alongside procedurally generated content, so runs differ. A character’s run takes between 30 and 60 minutes, and the game has no save system.

Story and setting

An unseen cosmic entity has been changing the planet’s inhabitants. Some have become immune to its hunt or joined cults devoted to it, while most are repeatedly marked, stalked and preyed upon until they become thralls. Many are driven mad by knowing their doom is coming. As the cursed population declines and fragments into factions, you play as the latest Followed One, seeking release from the cycle before the inevitable meeting with the Shadow.

The setting combines cosmic horror, weird fiction, science fiction, and apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic urban fantasy. The game features atmospheric music and an original soundtrack inspired by The Thing and Silent Hill 2, along with around 80 sound effects.

Explore and survive

You explore through text-based interactive fiction, including both procedurally generated passages and custom-written narratives. These are choice-based, non-parser text adventures with no puzzles. Towns and enemies are procedurally generated, while branching paths and conditional states lead to multiple endings and achievements.

Combat is challenging and strategic, with turn-based encounters. A progression system lets you unlock abilities and obtain gear, but there is no meta-progression: outcomes depend on your decisions and skill.

Game features

Sclera’s gameplay and aesthetics draw on D&D, interactive fiction, turn-based survival horror classics such as Laplace no Ma and Sweet Home, modern roguelikes such as NEO Scavenger, Darkest Dungeon and FTL, and 1990s RPGs such as Fallout, Darklands, Final Fantasy and Earthbound.