The Trial of Psyche

Apuleius · Metamorphoses IV–VI

An isometric puzzle about seeing and trusting, from Apuleius' tale of Cupid and Psyche.

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  • In development
  • Linux
  • Free software
“Do not seek to see my face.”
— Apuleius, Metamorphoses V
Enter the palace

The tale

A wedding of death, a husband she must never see

An oracle sends Psyche to a lonely crag, dressed for a wedding of death. The wind carries her to an invisible palace, where a husband she must never see comes to her every night. Then come the sisters, a lamp, a drop of oil — and the long road to win him back.

In the dark, what looks joined is joined.

Turn the diorama and two stones that only seem to touch become a bridge. Light the lamp and the truth shows — until the oil runs out. The rest of the palace's secrets are yours to find.

Four acts and an epilogue, in English and Italian, with hidden fragments of the tale to gather in the Book. It will be released once the whole tale is told.

How it plays

Perspective is the path

Every level is a small diorama floating over the clouds. Look closely, turn the world, and decide what to trust.

  • Turn the diorama

    The mountain never shows itself whole from one side. Turn the world around Psyche: from elsewhere, distant stones touch, and in the dark, what seems joined is joined.

  • The lamp

    Hold the light and the truth shows: hidden stairs appear, false bridges vanish. Veiled stones turn gold and, close by, become real for good — while the oil lasts.

  • The spindle

    The second tool. What it turns depends on where Psyche stands — a piece of the palace, or something far stranger.

Other tools wait further along the road. We will not spoil them.

The acts

Four acts and an epilogue

The game follows books IV to VI of Apuleius' Metamorphoses, the oldest telling of the tale. Each act opens with a card from the story.

  1. Act I 4 levels

    The Palace of Voices

    “On the crag of a high mountain, king, leave the girl, dressed for a wedding of death. Hope for no son-in-law of mortal birth.” So Apollo answers. Psyche climbs the crag alone, and the wind takes her.

    I.2 · The Invisible Palace

  2. Act II 4 levels

    Abandoned

    The drop of oil has woken the god. Cupid flies away, and the palace melts into the air. Psyche is left alone on the earth, to search for him.

    II.2 · The River and Pan

  3. Act III 5 levels

    The Trials of Venus

    Psyche knocks at the door of Venus. The goddess laughs and sets her impossible tasks. But small creatures take pity on her.

    III.2 · The Flock of the Sun

  4. Act IV 6 levels

    Proserpina's Box

    The last trial: go down to Proserpina and ask her for a little of her beauty, shut in a box. No one comes back from Hades.

    IV.6 · The Open Box

  5. Epilogue Being written

    The Awakening

    Psyche sleeps the sleep of the Styx, like one dead. Far away, a window opens.

Made of code

Not a single image or audio file

Everything you see and hear is made by code: the pieces, the sky, the music and every sound, footsteps included. The game is written in Odin on top of raylib. The palace is built from boxes and lathes, the sky and the clouds are shaders, and the music is generative: played live from a mood for each act, never the same twice.

image files
0
audio files
0
lines of Odin
20,000+
synthesised sounds
18
levels
20
fragments of the tale
35

Built with OdinraylibGLSL

Sound_Id :: enum u8 {
	Step_Grass, // a bare foot on grass: a soft press, the blades brushing
	Step_Stone, // a bare foot on stone: a soft pat, heel then toes
	Turn, // the world turns about Psyche: air, weight, a soft settle
	Seam, // a way opens where two stones meet in the view: a glass chime
	Lamp_On, // the wick catches: a breath of flame, crackle, a warm bloom
	Drip, // a drop (of oil)
	Wings, // Jupiter's eagle: slow broad wingbeats, then the glide
	Oar, // Charon's pole in the dark water: a slow swirl, a few deep gurgles
	// …
}
Every footstep is synthesised at startup — from src/audio/synth.odin

Follow the journey

It will be released once the whole tale is told

The Trial of Psyche is free software, developed in the open. Star the repository to follow every new level, or buy a coffee to keep the lamp lit.

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