Biocatalyst
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Biocatalyst
Kazuki is an average wage slave crunching away on a Friday night with two of his coworkers. As if working unpaid overtime wasn’t horrifying enough, the trio receives a strange email containing a cryptic message about "revealing the truth"; fail to do so, and they'll be killed at midnight. While they brush it off as a prank at first, after they get trapped inside the office with no escape, they soon realize they're in for a rough night. With a vengeful spirit now actively hunting after them, Kazuki and his coworkers conclude they better unveil the mystery of their company before the clock strikes twelve - or die trying.
Biocatalyst is a short horror visual novel set in the late 1990s with a PC-98 aesthetic. Made for Ossan Jam and Fuck Capitalism Jam 2024.
Trigger Warnings:
Body horror, death, disturbing imagery/descriptions, strong language & potential jump scares.
Contains flashing images & shaky text.
Features:
- Point-and-click gameplay
- Multiple endings
- 14k words, ~ 1 hour of gameplay
Team:
Ghooost: Art & GUI
renbie: Writing & Programming
Full list of copyright-free materials used in “Credits.txt" in the game folder.
We hope you enjoy and if you do, please rate or leave a comment if you can! Your support means everything to us! ♡
Status | Released |
Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
Rating | Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars (22 total ratings) |
Authors | renbie, ghooost |
Genre | Visual Novel |
Made with | Ren'Py |
Tags | Adult, Escape Game, Horror, Mystery, pc-98, Pixel Art, Point & Click, Retro, suspense |
Average session | About an hour |
Inputs | Mouse |
Development log
- Biocatalyst Release!May 02, 2024
Comments
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Incredibly charming and atmospheric art, with interface and prose to match!
I like how everyone reacted their own unique way to the Horrors, and came out better for it--and it ended surprisingly happy, too ^^
Thank you so much for your kind words!! ♡♡
Oh I adored this game <33
I'm so glad, thank you!! ♡
This was great! What an awesome choice of interface, with a worthy story and fun characters, plus some very creepy art to top it off.
Thank you so much!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! ♡
So, I was checking out a horror collection and decided to download this game. Right off the bat, the writing grabbed me, and I was curious about the folks behind this project. And guess who I found? renbieeeee~ I'm stoked I came across this awesome game, especially knowing it's from a familiar game dev! The pixelated GUI and PC-98 vibe are spot-on — big props to the artist for nailing that chilling atmosphere. It totally gave me nostalgia vibes (go ossans gooooo!)
I really dug the little details in the programming, like the smooth animations and how the dialogue flows. It all made the game way more rad. And the OST? Man, I was literally shaking (Dennis should come save me esp since we have similar names). The sound effects for the text were chill but also kinda unsettling, and they fit the game perfectly. Seriously, great job all around!
Eliiii!! Wow, I am so happy you stumbled upon this little game!! Your incredibly kind words mean SO much to me, especially given how insanely talented you are!! Seriously, I cannot thank you enough! ╥﹏╥ I am sooo glad you ended up enjoying it!! ♡♡♡ (go ossans gooooo!)
As Marx said in Capital, "capital comes dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt."
Amazing game! Chilling art and story,gradually revealed the dark side of the company.The The game developers are really genius!
✪ ω ✪
I really, really enjoyed the story and the arts of this game! And the horror was on point!
I'm a professional French translator and would love to offer a volunteer translation, since the game is free.
You'll find all my links in my itch profile! Please let me know if a collaboration is something you'd like : D
Okay this is the first time ever reading something has given me literal chills- for multiple times- to the point that I even skipped some extra g0rey dialogues because it's just too scary for me XD (sorry) The icky adrenaline was real and it was such an experience! And I'm saying all these positively! Good job on the writing!!
I loved the art and GUI too, I love this quite-pixelated(?) style ;; and I love old men friendships trope heheheheheh
Underrated VN fr, I think more peeps should play this, I'd definitely recommend this for horror (and ossan lol) enjoyers hehe
-Hon
As a horror writer, there is no better compliment - that makes me so happy to hear haha! I am so glad you enjoyed it, thank you SO much for your praise and kind words; it means so much to us!! ♡♡
I finally got a chance to play this game and it was SO worth it! The scares absolutely did what they were supposed to do and I found myself genuinely jumping when they happened. Ghooot's art combined with Renbie's writing made for a truly impactful, human story. I was scared, upset, angry ,and confused along with the characters every step of the way. I think my favorite thing about this game was the relationships between all parties and how they changed, grew, and developed. ANYWAYS, yapping aside this was such a fun experience and as all ways I look forward to more works in the future<333
Wow, I cannot thank you enough for your incredibly kind words! It means so much to us! I am SO happy you enjoyed it, thank you for your support!! ♡╥﹏╥♡
I haven't gotten chills from horror media in a hot minute but this did it! Great short story with wonderfully scary art! Adore all of the characters, esp Dennis!
I'm so happy to hear the horror was effective for you!! Thank you so much for your kind words! ♡
I love how creative and detailed this game is!! Super impressive work, it definitely creeped me out!! The moral dilemma was thought provoking and the characters were all distinct. Kazuki was very relatable lol! And all the gameplay aspects really gave it the feel of a classic horror game. It honestly got my heart beating fast during the scary parts! The character design, backgrounds, and UI were so special and detailed, really sets it apart from other games. Such a unique game and a fascinating story that instantly hooked me!
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed!!