Restore, Reflect, Retry PC

A haunted game ensnares players in its grip, recalling past sessions while altering memories each time. This interactive horror novel unfolds through 90,000 words and hundreds of choices, relying solely on text to conjure pixelated alternate realities. Teenagers in a small 1990s town first uncover the black rectangular box with its small screen, drawn into endless play that blurs the line between game and reality. Choose male, female, or nonbinary identities, along with gay, straight, or bi orientations, and roles like visionary artist, strategic gamer, or thoughtful book lover. Befriend ghosts, become one, or consume them while trying to rescue friends from the nested game. Explore the mystery of its origins, confront the being behind the screen, or attempt to destroy it all-ideal for readers who thrive on thoughtful, choice-driven indie RPG narratives.

You've played this game before. It's a haunted game about a haunted game. You may not remember, but the game remembers you. I remember you.

Restore, Reflect, Retry is an interactive horror novel by Natalia Theodoridou. It's entirely text-based, 90,000 words and hundreds of choices, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

Nebula Award Finalist for Best Game Writing in the 60th Annual Nebula Awards!

None of you remember who first found the game: the black rectangular box with the small screen on which instructions appear. Of course it piqued your interest: this is the 1990s, after all; and there isn’t much for teenagers to do in your small town. Your friends were intrigued; you were intrigued. So you started to play. And play. And play.

What does it matter if nobody remembers exactly how you discovered the game, or if the story changes, ever so slightly, each time you tell it? Or if [i]you[/i] change, ever so slightly, every time you emerge into the real world once more?

All that matters is that you keep playing. The game needs its flesh.

• Nebula Award Finalist for Best Game Writing in the 60th Annual Nebula Awards

• Play as male, female, or nonbinary; gay, straight, or bi.

• Travel through the world as a visionary artist, a strategic gamer, or a thoughtful book lover.

• Befriend a ghost; become a ghost; consume a ghost.

• Save your friends from the game within a game—if you can.

• Explore pixelated alternate realities to solve the mystery of the game’s origin, and contemplate the deeper truths of this reality.

• Befriend the being behind the screen—or try to destroy the game that you are playing, and hope that it doesn’t fight back.

Come in, Player. I'm waiting.