MyMMO demon Cortyn allowed himself to be seduced into breaking taboos. In this article we reveal why a game on Steam is convincing despite tough topics.
“The Coffin of Andy and Leyley” has been smiling at me on Steam for a few weeks now. An interesting graphic style, appealing characters and 97% positive reviews ultimately led me to buy it despite being in early access to see what makes the game so special.
So a little warning: Anyone who has a big problem with (taboo) topics such as cannibalism, suicide, incest or coarse language should close the page quickly. But since I know your morbid curiosity – have fun reading.
Trailer for the disturbing “The Coffin of Andy and Leyley”
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“The Coffin of Andy and Leyley” is a mix of RPG and horror game, with the focus clearly on the story and the (disturbing and terrific) characters. This is the starting position:
Andrew and Ashley are locked in their apartment. This was ordered by the state because some areas of the city are apparently infected with a new, strange parasite and have been quarantined. Although it is said on television that the infected are being cared for and are being given regular support, Ashley and Andrew have not had any food for weeks.
But let me first say a few words about the two siblings:
22-year-old Andrew Graves (“Andy”) is relatively reserved. A little slight, but definitely good-looking and a little listless. He is rather calculating and forward-looking, only his sister sometimes makes him impulsive. He sees himself as her protector and tries above all to protect her from the greatest stupidities – but then he often allows himself to be led into nonsense by her.
20-year-old Ashley Graves (“Leyley”) is extremely possessive of her brother – she has quite the brother complex. She ruins every relationship for him and incites him to make many missteps from a young age. She was such a difficult child that even her parents turned away from her and she would basically be left alone without her brother – which only makes her even more panicky and wants to bind him to her.
As befits siblings, the two are fighting almost constantly and the irritable atmosphere of the quarantine with dwindling food only contributes to the two being at each other’s throats – which they usually quickly regret, but only with difficulty over theirs be able to jump over your own shadow.
After the two of them had several attacks of weakness due to a lack of food and had already toyed with the idea of simply throwing themselves off the balcony together, something changed. They hear loud, mysterious music from the neighboring apartment.
The two climb over the balcony and witness their neighbor attempting a demonic invocation, which is only partially successful and ultimately leaves the cultist dead.
After the initial shock is over, the two see a salvation: meat.
Andrew resists the idea, but Ashley quickly warms to the option and quickly convinces her brother that it is the only way to survive. This is the first step on the road to complete moral decay for both of them.
One thing leads to another and after successfully escaping from their apartment, the two try to make their way through the world and find out what these parasites are all about, how the demon invocation should actually have worked, why they don’t have any support in the form of received food or why their parents never contacted them again.
Gameplay is functional, but completely sufficient
Now let’s move on to the gameplay of the game. This is, unfortunately or fortunately, pretty simple. Almost always you just have to solve small puzzles. If Ashley wants to cook something for her brother, she first collects the ingredients. To build a bridge between two balconies, you first have to install a wooden board from a cupboard.
The gameplay is almost inconsequential and is simply a means to create a bit of interaction and differentiate the game from a pure “visual novel”. There are decisions that influence the story, but these have been relatively rare so far.
The positive aspect here is that you can often interact with a lot of objects (and characters) to find out different thoughts or perspectives from Ashley or Andrew. This is simply a bit of a “bonus story” if you are interested in the environment and the thoughts of the two protagonists.
But you shouldn’t expect exciting gameplay, because 99% of this game relies on the captivating story and complex gameplay elements would get in the way.
Breaking taboos in constant fire – and implemented damn well
It is clear that you have to talk about the two big topics in the game, which cause all sorts of memes, discussions and criticism. The game deals with an emerging incestuous relationship between Andrew and Ashley and cannibalism.
On the one hand, of course, this is a loud breach of taboo and you can clearly see it as a “marketing stunt” – but in my opinion that wouldn’t be fair. Because these themes are presented damn well and, despite the “RPG Maker graphics”, they are coherent, disturbing and exciting at the same time.
It’s the little details that make the whole thing so good, convincing and often a little unpleasant, and I found that to be brilliantly implemented:
Most of the game happens from Ashley’s perspective, so you can also follow her thoughts and emotions. That doesn’t make their views any less reprehensible, but at least in many ways more understandable. They’re just well-written, fascinating characters.
What is unique to me is the balance between “character moments” and the speed at which the story progresses. Because even though the game lives from the story and the dialogues between Andy and Leyley, sometimes so much happens so incredibly quickly that you think you’re in a fever dream (and sometimes that’s true). Here is a short sequence of events (spoiler):
An evening visiting Ashley and Andrew’s parents
All of this action takes place in a period of perhaps 10 or 15 minutes. It’s a constant barrage of situations and moments in which you watch in shock and yet with morbid curiosity and keep thinking “Uh, spicy” in the best Gordon Ramsay style.
Coarse language that makes everything more convincing
I was particularly impressed by the general roughness of the game.
Where many other games are considered provocative when a character says “Fuck!”, The Coffin of Andy and Leyley has deliberately not set this limit. This makes the characters more realistic and relatable. They speak like people would speak and that gives all the dialogue a depressing yet fascinating realism that I miss in many “big AAA games”.
Especially in the arguments between the two siblings, who don’t mince words, you really get the impression: They’re people. These are siblings who express their opinions without holding back and sometimes insult each other in anger – really nasty ones.
This is actually only topped when you find out which voice messages Ashley left on the voicemails of Andrew’s potential girlfriends. This is so vicious, so raw and so full of consuming jealousy that I don’t even want to write the words out, which is why I’ll just show you this as a screenshot:
It’s not finished – and that’s bad
The only really big negative point for me is that “The Coffin of Andy and Leyley” is still in Early Access. This means that the story ends after the 2nd chapter and you still have to wait for the sequel. This was the case after about 4 hours of play.
But the world and the characters are both convincing and disturbing. I can hardly wait to see what happens next with Ashley and Andrew – and what moral boundaries they will break down.
If you want to experience a captivating, disturbing adventure with two equally great and scary characters, you should get the game. For just under 10 € you can’t go wrong here and you get to see many moments that you can think about with fascination and/or disgust.
I can’t wait to see how the story continues, whether Ashley “gets over” her brother, and how many more corpses will pave her way or fill her plates.