Anthology Of The Killer

Rate it

A zine writer, a city of serial killers and a world that runs on dream logic.

Platforms: PC, Linux
Price: Paid
Rated: Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (99% of 800 reviews); itch.io 5.0 of 5 from 304 ratings
Length: about 3 hours for all chapters
Players: 1
Made by: thecatamites
Released: 2024

What frightens BB, a reporter who makes a crime zine, wanders XX City, a dream-logic place thick with serial killers and the people who worship them: a call centre with a horrible noise from the sea, an apartment block where the Killer's hands roam inside the walls, a theatre whose audiences vanish, and a country town where severed heads roll down the street.
Content: blood, violence, disturbing imagery, surgery imagery.

Anthology Of The Killer collects nine short surreal horror-comedy games by thecatamites. You follow BB, who makes a zine about crime, through XX City, a place full of serial killers, immersive theatre, waterparks, art freeports and worse, in hand-drawn, brightly coloured 3D.

About Anthology Of The Killer

Anthology Of The Killer is a collection of nine related short games by thecatamites, with Tommy Tone and A. Degen, released between 2020 and 2024. The games were first free on Game Jolt; the anthology came to itch.io in May 2024 and to Steam in October 2024.

All of them follow BB, a self-styled reporter who collects material for her crime zine. Her city, XX City, is the centre of serial killer culture, and the chapters take her through it: Voice Of The Killer sends her to a call centre on the edge of the city, Hands Of The Killer to an apartment block where something moves inside the walls, Eyes Of The Killer to an immersive theatre whose audiences disappear, Blood Of The Killer to a country town where severed heads roll down the street.

Each chapter is a walking game. You move through odd, colourful places drawn in a scratchy cartoon style, talk to the people you meet and follow the story to its strange end. The writing is dry and funny, and the places feel like dreams that almost make sense, which is where the unease comes from.

Players rate it very highly, and critics praised how closely it resembles real dreams. It suits players who like surreal, funny and unsettling games over jump scares and chases.

How to play Anthology Of The Killer

Pick a chapter from the anthology; they can be played in order.
Walk BB through each place and talk to the people you meet.
Look around and follow the thread of the chapter's mystery to its end.
Visit the extras, such as the gallery of drawings, once you have finished.

Screenshots

Anthology Of The Killer screenshot: two grinning nurses with red crosses for eyes prep BB for surgery, joking about veins and arteries

Anthology Of The Killer screenshot: BB walks down a psychedelic corridor of flame-patterned walls and swirling floors among dark figures

Anthology Of The Killer screenshot: BB stands in a wooden hallway with a bug-eyed doll, describing its greasy rubber skin

Anthology Of The Killer screenshot: BB and two friends look at a statue in a museum hall hung with paintings

Tips

Play in order to follow BB's story and the city's recurring characters.
Read all the dialogue; much of the humour and horror is in it.
Take each chapter slowly; they are short but dense.
If the camera gets awkward in the early chapters, keep moving; it improves later.