Where They Once Were, a stunning Ludum Dare 31 game, puts you in the position of a woman who has found a strange and abandoned cottage while trying to escape some pursuers.

You must now survive in this strangely empty cabin. This cabin is locked, but a key is hanging right by the door, so it seems as if anyone can just go right in. There is plenty of supplies, enough to get a fire going, a gun to keep you safe, and maybe even some food hidden around. Through simply picking up objects and interacting with things, you will be able to light a fire and sleep off your first night in this place. At night, however, things get a bit strange. A ghost seems to loom outside your cabin, over a specific spot that seems to have some sort of skull in it. Maybe its only a dream.

The next day there is a little bit more to do. It is snowing outside, so you cannot go back home. The snow is too thick. You must find some food, keep your fire going, and explore the attic. In the attic is a number of things, including a hidden book. This book is quite creepy, written by a paranoid person who must have also lived in this cabin. The past owner of the cabin must have been crazy, right? Best not to think about whatever drove them out of the perfectly working cabin, in such a haste that they forgot basically everything they owned.

Depending on what you do in day two, you might get one of two visitors; a wolf or a demonic creature. Both of these creatures look to destroy you. Depending on what you do to these two monsters, you can live to breath another night, or die in the middle of nowhere. There are four endings to this amazingly polished game. I, myself, have only found three of these endings, all leading to my demise.

Will you survive this haunted cabin?

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