- Acolyte x Sub-Verge | The Deep Conversation Bundle - 1 May 2025
Oh, hello! It has been a little while. A quick one today to let you know that Acolyte is now available alongside Sub-Verge - a new psychological narrative/puzzle game - as part of the Deep Conversation Bundle. As both games explore the notion of dialogue and conversation as a gameplay mechanic, putting them together in one thematically linked package made a lot of sense. About Sub-Verge Conversation is a dangerous game. Manipulate a fractured band of renegade divers to reach the depths of this short narrative puzzle. Uncover alliances and expose betrayals — before something horrific from the dark abyss silences you all. Don’t let the conversation get too deep. To celebrate the bundle, we've also whacked 50% off the game, deepening the discount you'll get from getting both games together even further. Thanks! Sub-Verge is Out Now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3487020/SubVerge/
- Welcome to the House of Misfits - 6 March 2025
Hark! It is time we made some noise. The house of misfits is open. Pantaloon is broadening its mission of platforming bold and bizarre games by moving into the world of original publishing, as we seek to become a home for misfits with our new game label. First order of business? We’re bringing three (!) games to market this year, and are now actively looking to sign more weird and wayward games to bring to our label of misfits. Before looking at our first titles, some context: I will submit that the world does not need another indie publisher, but the Pantaloon Label is driven by a different vision, with a combination of philosophies, terms and technologies (no, not that one) that will make it stand out. We’re currently hard at work on a platform that will underpin our new label, and will be unveiling this later in the year. Our newsletter - now approaching 30k subscribers - will remain…
- Acolyte Voice Within Update Available Now! - 5 September 2022
The first major update to our natural-language narrative ARG is AVAILABLE NOW, alongside our first sale for the game, with 25% off for a full week. The Acolyte Voice Within Update brings some key new functionality to the game, including: Full, dynamic AI voice-over New 'Daily Horoscope' module New facts added New jokes added 100s of lines of new dialogue Improved Hint system Performance Improvements Additional fixes & polish The TTS (Text to Speech) feature is the real star of the show here, melding with the game's Natural Language Input to offer dynamic voice-over, bringing your Acolyte to life through spoken word. Here, we've partnered with ReadSpeaker to give Ana her voice, which not only benefits the narrative of the game, but also introduces an important layer of accessibility that was missing before now. Check out the brand new trailer here: Thanks, and until next time. Jamin & Th…
- The Official Acolyte OST is Out Now! - 19 August 2022
Ahead of some bigger news relating to Acolyte's upcoming 1.1 Update, a quick note on music. Since the launch of the game, we've had a bunch of folks asking where they can listen to the Acolyte OST. And I never had a good answer to this question other than: "boot the game and have it running in the background on max volume??" which was far from ideal. I'm excited to announce, however, that the official Acolyte OST is now available via your streaming platform of choice, including visualised versions of the three tracks which are now available on YouTube. Shout-out to the fantastic Jack W Thompson and the team at Feel For Music for their work on the music, and for making the tracks available to stream. More soon... Jamin & The Superstring Team Play Acolyte today! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1516330/Acolyte/
- Acolyte v1.0.1 Update Now Live - 30 June 2022
First things first: HUGE thanks to those of you that have picked up Acolyte and chucked yourself down the rabbit-hole of ARG sleuthing. I've been watching as many streams and videos of the game as I can, and seeing how different players tackle the game via its open-ended input is fascinating. To the small subset of players that have managed to solve all the game's puzzles: kudos. The game game has - and I quote the NME review here - "some of the hardest video game puzzles you’ll ever solve" - so to welcome some of you to the elusive Club100 so soon has been a pleasant surprise. There will be a bigger update with more substantial feature additions in due course, but I wanted to get a first patch out the door as soon after launch as possible to address a few of the smaller issues that have been cropping up. In this first update to the game, we've added: Expanded valid-inputs for certain p…
- Acolyte is OUT NOW! - 28 June 2022
The day has finally arrived. Acolyte - Superstring's ambitious natural language narrative ARG - is OUT NOW! And there's 10% off to celebrate launch. Acolyte is a narrative ARG/Detective game that gives you your own Acolyte; a digital assistant you can talk to freely with unlimited dialogue options. Just like a real conversation. Become an employee of Nanomax, a well-funded tech start-up looking to change the face of consumer AI with its upcoming Acolyte application. As a remote-worker for the company, you'll interact with its employees and absorb its culture. But unexplained firings, missing employees and a strange, highly-classified bug in the Acolyte code-base point to something being very wrong. If you've ever dreamed of having your own PA who you can solve crimes and take down corrupt institutions with, Acolyte will be right up your street. Missed the launch trailer? Give it a watch…
- The Big 'One Week Until Launch' FAQ! - 21 June 2022
We are now one week from the launch of Acolyte. In seven days time, the game that Superstring has been working on for the past three years will land on Steam. Questions about the game? We've got you covered. ACOLYTE HAS ‘ARG ELEMENTS’? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!? It means that the game also takes place outside of the game client itself. To unravel Acolyte’s mystery and solve some of its puzzles, you’ll need to expand your thinking, and be prepared to think outside the box…. I'M STUCK ON PUZZLE - WHAT DO I DO? Firstly, please don't post story/puzzle spoilers here on Steam or otherwise - half the fun is working out what to do here, but they can involve some 'out of the box thinking'. If you're really stuck and think there might be a proper, real life bug - please get in touch - supportsuperstringstudio I'VE FOUND A *REAL* BUG! Ack! Sorry! Acolyte will still be receiving updates post launch. Ple…
- Acolyte Release Date Moved to June 28th - 23 May 2022
I’ve made the difficult decision to push the release of Acolyte by a month. Due to the natural language input at the heart of the experience, there are an infinite number of ways a player might interact with the game and it’s puzzles, and my general feeling is that the game can be much tighter, and deliver a more polished experience. At this stage of production, Acolyte is developed by a team of one; canvasing the game and properly testing the infinitude of routes through it is tough work. I want to dedicate some extra time to playtesting the final versions of the game, squashing bugs, and generally ensuring the game is in the best shape it can be for launch. Thanks for your patience, and rest assured - come June 28th - that it will all be worth it. Missed it? You can watch the new trailer below: More soon. -- Acolyte is due for release June 23rd 2022. Wishlist now! Wishlist Acolyte htt…
- The New (and Final!) Acolyte Trailer Has Arrived - 12 May 2022
Ahead of release later this month, we've released the final trailer for Acolyte - showing the game's natural language dialogue, ARG sleuthing and general corporate conspiracy in action. "Blackmail, harassment, a secret they'll do anything to hide. If tech giants like Nanomax are left unchecked. Unchallenged. Who knows where things will lead..." Watch the new trailer below: More soon. -- Acolyte is due for release May 26th 2022. Wishlist now! Wishlist Acolyte https://store.steampowered.com/app/1516330/Acolyte/
- Acolyte - An Alternate Reality Game - 28 April 2022
Not only is Acolyte a natural language game - meaning you can talk freely without pre-defined dialogue options - it's also an ARG. This means that the game spills out of the game client itself, and starts to unfold across the web. Everything spins around the fictional company of Nanomax, who you'll 'work for' as a QA tester when you begin the game. The nature of your relationship to Nanomax will change as the story-progresses, but the company is a constant throughout the narrative. The ARG components of Acolyte are largely tied to this tech company, and their real-world presence. You'll be trawling through their web presence, social media accounts and internal documentation in your investigation to expose their true intentions. This means, as a detective style experience, you'll need to think outside the box, and apply very different logic to your puzzle-solving. Leaving the game experi…
- Interacting With Your Acolyte | 10 Features of Your Digital Assistant - 21 April 2022
Acolyte is a natural language game. This means there are no pre-defined dialogue options or binary decisions to make. You can, within reason, talk freely to your Acolyte - your own digital assistant - to advance the plot in any way you see fit. Or you could choose to NOT advance the plot at all, and simply soak in the conversation. It’s totally up to you. Through conversation and verbal command, your Acolyte has access to a broad range of different modules to cover a spectrum of different uses. Some are functional, and some are simply entertaining. Here’s Ten Ways You Can Interact With Your Acolyte: //ONE - RENAME YOUR ACOLYTE The AI Nanomax Assistant is, by default, called Ana. But you are free to name her whatever you wish. Simply ask “I want to change your name “ or “I want to rename you” (or a variant of this!) and your Acolyte will let you choose a new name. //TWO - RENAME YOURSELF…
- Welcome to Nanomax, the World of Acolyte - 7 April 2022
In our upcoming natural language ARG/Detective game, you are a character in the story -- not a character that you might assume the role of, but you. Today’s update aims to shine a bit of a light on the world that you’ll be immersing yourself in: the world of the technology company, Nanomax. You'll start the game as a new employee of the well-funded tech start up. Specifically, you’re brought on board as a QA tester for the company’s upcoming flagship product – the digital assistant and lifestyle companion app: Acolyte. In your role as a QA Tester for the product, you’ll be able to submit bugs, and generally help shape the ongoing development of the application. But the more you learn about its developers (your employers), the further down a disturbing rabbit hole you'll fall... Nanomax was founded by Fiona Nightingale. A tech-savant and poster-child of the AI scene. Nightingale’s vision…
- Acolyte Will Launch on May 26th, 2022 - 17 March 2022
It’s taken a little while to put a date to Acolyte, but we’re finally there. Out ambitious natural language detective/ARG title will launch on Steam on May 26th, 2022. Just around the corner, then. Since the release of Acolyte: Prologue a year ago, we have doubled down on the game’s innovative ARG elements, with a new focus on bold puzzles that will see players having to dig deep and summon their inner detective as they leave the confines of the game itself. An official selected title of London Games Festival 2021, Acolyte features writing and narrative design from George Lockett and Olivia Wood (Sunless Skies, Fallen London and Where the Water Tastes Like Wine), who have helped to shape the game’s branching story, weaving it together with bold ARG puzzles that take place across the web and social media. We'll have a series of Dev Blogs here on Steam taking a closer look at various elem…
- Acolyte Brings on Board New Writing Talent - 12 August 2021
This has been a few months in the making, but we're excited to announce the additions of Olivia Wood and George Lockett (Bear//Wolf) to the Acolyte team, who are bringing their narrative design and writing talents to the table to help shape Acolyte's story, and flesh out the real-world ARG components of the game. Olivia and George bring their experiences with fantastic narrative titles such as Sunless Skies, Fallen London and Where the Water Tastes Like Wine. With early work now coming through the doors - including early iterations of innovative new ARG puzzles - it's safe to say the full version of Acolyte will be dramatically expanding on what's been laid down in the Prologue. We can't wait so share more from development in the weeks to come... For more regular updates, please follow Superstring on Twitter.
