Isolomus

About Isolomus

Isolomus is a bite-sized surreal horror game by Michael Rfdshir, released on Steam in 2020. Every graphic and animation in it was made by hand from plasticine and photographed against black, so the game looks like a clay stop-motion film that you can poke at.

The maker describes it as the scream of a consciousness dying in isolation, an interactive experience of madness. There are no words anywhere: you click on figures, doors, teeth, keys and food to see what they do, and the scenes change in ways that are hard to predict. Clay creatures crawl out of tins, tiny figures walk along giant teeth, and ordinary things such as a toothbrush or a fork become part of the nightmare.

Your choices matter. The store promises multiple choices and two endings, and wonders which of the two is the worse. A full play takes about twenty minutes, so it is easy to go back for the other ending.

Isolomus suits players who like short, odd horror that unsettles more than it startles, in the vein of Yume Nikki or Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk. Its humour is dark, and the store notes cartoon violence.

How to play Isolomus

1. Start the game and click on anything in the clay scene that looks like it might react.
2. Watch what each click does; there is no text to tell you.
3. Choose between the options the scenes offer you; your choices decide the ending.
4. Play again to see the other ending.

Tips

• Set aside twenty minutes and play it in one sitting.
• Click everything, including objects at the edges of the screen.
• Note what you chose the first time so you can try the other path for the second ending.

Questions