Centum (video game)

Lore & Background

Centum is presented as a long-lost unreleased game and features an unreliable narrator. The story begins with a prisoner attempting to escape their cell, and the crux of the game revolves around an artificial intelligence adapting to the player's choices. The game includes five main endings. Gameplay consists of clicking on objects in the environment, navigating evolving in-game computer interfaces, and selecting dialogue and actions from boxes.

Reader's Guide

Centum was developed by Hack The Publisher, an independent studio based in Tallinn, Estonia, which previously released Dwarven Skykeep (2022) and Vengeance of Mr. Peppermint (2023). Studio head Andrey Kiryushkin cited The Stanley Parable, Doki Doki Literature Club, and I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream as inspirations. The game was announced on April 29, 2024, during IGN's ID@Xbox presentation, initially scheduled for Summer 2024. It was previewed in May 2024 and showcased at Gamescom, PAX West 2024, and the Indie Horror Showcase 2024, where a 2025 release window was announced. The final release date of March 11, 2025, was revealed in February 2025 alongside additional platform ports. Critics praised the branching storyline, timely themes, and atmosphere, though some found the abstract storytelling obtuse. The game holds a Metacritic score of 75, indicating generally favorable reviews.

Did You Know?

• Centum was announced on April 29, 2024, during IGN's ID@Xbox presentation.
• The game features five main endings.
• Studio head Andrey Kiryushkin named The Stanley Parable, Doki Doki Literature Club, and I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream as inspirations.
• Centum was showcased at both Gamescom and PAX West 2024.

Gameplay & Design Philosophy

Centum operates as a point-and-click adventure, but one that refuses to settle into a single visual or mechanical identity. The game shifts between different settings and art styles throughout its runtime, creating a sense of constant reinvention. Central to the experience are in-game computer interfaces that evolve over time, demanding that players adapt their navigation strategies as the digital landscape changes beneath them. The core loop remains accessible—clicking on environmental objects, working through interface puzzles, and choosing dialogue or action options from on-screen prompts—but the surrounding context keeps mutating. A particularly distinctive design choice is the presence of an artificial intelligence within the game that responds to and adapts based on the player's individual decisions, making each playthrough feel like a unique conversation rather than a fixed script. This reactive element elevates what could have been a straightforward puzzle experience into something more dynamic and personal.

Narrative Structure & Thematic Ambition

The story of Centum is deliberately layered and resistant to easy interpretation. The game presents itself as a long-lost, previously unreleased title, immediately placing the player in a metafictional space where the boundary between game and reality blurs. An unreliable narrator guides the experience, and the narrative opens with a prisoner attempting to escape their cell before expanding into broader territory. At its core, the plot orbits around an artificial intelligence that adapts to the player's choices, making the player's agency a central narrative concern rather than a mechanical afterthought. The game offers five distinct main endings, rewarding multiple playthroughs and suggesting that no single path captures the full meaning of the story. Critics have noted the game's critique of generative AI as a timely thematic thread, and its exploration of the relationship between author and audience adds another layer of self-awareness to an already self-referential design.

Development & Creative Lineage

Centum is the work of Hack The Publisher, a small independent studio based in Tallinn, Estonia, led by Andrey Kiryushkin. The team had previously shipped two titles: Dwarven Skykeep, a tower defense game released in 2022, and Vengeance of Mr. Peppermint, a side-scrolling beat 'em up that arrived in 2023. Centum represents a significant pivot toward narrative-driven, experimental design. In a 2024 interview with GamingBolt, Kiryushkin identified three key inspirations behind the project: The Stanley Parable, Doki Doki Literature Club, and the classic horror novel I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. These references point to a clear interest in unreliable narration, fourth-wall-breaking storytelling, and the existential dread of artificial intelligence. The game was published by Serenity Forge, which handled marketing and multi-platform distribution, allowing the small Estonian team to focus on creative development while the publisher managed the broader release logistics.

Critical Reception & Player Impression

Upon its March 2025 launch, Centum earned generally favorable critical reception, collecting a Metacritic score of 75 out of 100 based on six critic reviews. The responses, while positive overall, revealed a game that divides audiences along the axis of accessibility. James Stephanie Sterling of The Jimquisition gave it 8.5 out of 10, commending its disturbing imagery and sharp critique of generative AI while praising its balance of mystery and clarity. Nick Rodriguez of Game Rant scored it 9 out of 10, highlighting the branching narrative and topical themes. Edge Magazine lauded the game's dark, oppressive atmosphere and unconventional puzzles as a brilliantly crafted experience. Not all reviewers were uniformly enthusiastic, however. Giovanni Colantonio of Digital Trends found the abstract storytelling occasionally too cryptic for its own good, yet acknowledged the game lodged itself in his mind like a half-remembered nightmare. This split between admiration and mild confusion seems to be the game's defining critical fingerprint.