Spirits of Xanadu
Release date: Mar 26, 2015
Developers: Good Morning, Commander, allen trivette, Lee Williams
Publishers: Nightdive Studios
Genres: Action, Adventure, Indie
Categories: Single-player, Steam Achievements, Full controller support, Steam Trading Cards, Captions available, Family Sharing
Supported languages: English

At the farthest edge of the explored universe, the research ship Xanadu slumbers in orbit around a mysterious planet. Her systems remain active but there has been no message from her crew for months. Now a lone operative has been sent to wake the Xanadu and bring her home to Earth. Spirits of Xanadu is an atmospheric exploration game set aboard a deserted starship in an alternate 1980s. It draws inspiration from classic sci-fi films, novels, and games to create an immersive and highly interactive environment, featuring puzzles and FPS elements in the service of a unique and layered plot. Key Features: Discover the truth Get to know the crew and piece together what happened through fully voiced audiologs in addition to various types of documents and e-mails. Three distinct endings Make a decision based on what you have discovered, and decide the fate of the Xanadu. No hand holding You have one primary objective: Return the Xanadu back to Earth. There are no objective markers, you have no map, and the ship has been sabotaged. You begin your mission with only a flashlight and a message from your superiors back on Earth, the rest you'll have to figure out on your own. Hot robot action with first person shooter combat Evade the ship's security system while battling hostile robots. Fully interactive environment Inspired by the immersive environments of games such as Deus Ex and System Shock 2: Open every drawer, use every computer, and read every document you find. More importantly, you can flush every toilet. Optional 'Peaceful' mode Not a fan of violence against robots? Switch to the Peaceful difficulty setting in the options menu to make the robots passive, allowing you to explore the ship, experience the story, and solve puzzles at your own pace. 

Press reviews: “Spirits of Xanadu offers an enriching gameplay experience that lingers on the edge of my thoughts even now. While I feared it would turn out to be just another sci-fi horror adventure, it jumped up and surprised me with meaningful storytelling, interesting mysteries, and three different endings (all of which are extremely impactful, depending on what kind of psychotic person you are).” Johnny Ohm, Gizorama “The game is proof that you don't need Unreal Engine 4 visuals or graphic violence to be scary and immersive, all you need is a character, a ship and the endless void where all your dreams - and all your nightmares - can exist.” Steve Buja, Gamenguide “This is an impressive little horror game because of how heavily it avoids typical horror imagery. Sure, there’s a blood trail marking the path of a [dragged] body, but that’s the only bit of gore in the whole game. Instead, Spirits of Xanadu leans into the surreal and the mystical, like floating kabuki masks and lotus flowers casually placed in a briefcase, all taking place in an alternative futuristic 1983.” Nick Dinicola, PopMatters 

Notes: The game includes depictions of blood and audio tapes of a character describing a murder.