Games Like Aster Initiative

Aster Initiative goes beyond a love letter to the early days of computing. It’s a story-based digital horror experience with choices that matter, found-footage video, and an open web to explore.

THE STORY

You are Joanne Saunders, a newly hired secretary at the Canadian pharmaceutical company, Aster Initiative. As dark secrets from the company begin to unravel, you decide to dig deeper and take the company down from the inside—on your work computer. Can you do it in a single workweek?

THE GAMEPLAY

With operating system, LapetusOS, you can:

But beware of your watchful supervisor, who doesn't tolerate slacking off.

Between five workdays, guide Joanne’s personal life through branching full-motion videos that influence the story and desktop experience. Be mindful of managing your suspicion and stress levels.

REINVENTING ANALOG HORROR

Aster Initiative is built on meticulous period accuracy and atmosphere. Watch a fully produced Eurodance music video, explore a disturbingly faithful shock site, or listen to a 90s hip-hop track.

Every in-game website is real HTML, created with the same tools, assets, and design techniques used in the 1990s. Video, photo, and audio are captured and processed using vintage methods, including VHS workflows and era-accurate digital artifacting.

We collaborate with computer historians and technical consultants to ensure the experience is authentically 90s from the inside out. No generative AI is used in development. The early web was built by people, and so is this.