The Elision Effect

About this game

The last person finds themselves in an empty office. Not knowing what made everyone abandon these liminal spaces, they look for an exit.

The Elision Effect is a short surreal puzzle game.

You might be the last person in this building. Empty offices and locked doors. You try to keep moving.

The place seems off, like it shouldn’t exist. It smells of old coffee stains, the fluorescent lights buzz, and corporate jazz plays on crappy speakers.

You long for fresh air.
An exit must be near.

Gameplay

There's no overarching puzzle mechanic. You will have to figure out how to progress. Each room has a different mechanic.

Style

The game uses an oldschool low-resolution, low-poly graphical style. It is inspired by the liminal space trend, as well as classic games utilizing the empty office setting. The game may be eerie at times, but there are no jump-scares or other horror elements, besides a dark atmosphere.

Photosensitivity Warning

A very small percentage of people may experience seizures from certain visual stimuli in video games, even without a history of epilepsy. If you experience symptoms like lightheadedness, or twitching, stop playing and consult a doctor. To reduce risk, play in a well-lit room and avoid playing when drowsy.

Game Profile

Game Duration: 30 minutes (1-2 hours completionist).
Made for the Indiepocalypse Zine.
With custom music by AkAveryM.

Latest news

• Patch Notes·7 Jun 2024Official

  The Bugfixing Effect

  ⏰ improved alarm clock puzzle (thx: Weyland) lowered sound radius pressing wrong clocks again, won't change numbers anymore 🚽 fixed missing urinals in mirror (thx: Weyland) 🔊 fixed repeating door closing sound in magenta room 🚪 fixed door that let you go out of bounds (thx: many people, incl. maddie) 🌈 adjusted "Closet" and fixed "Head over Heel" achievement 💨 made changes in favour of speedrunning speedrun timer at the end, if faster than 4min (thx: Jade) secret door opens, if faster than 4min 👢 footsteps volume lowered (thx: Uncivil Gamers, Daxel) 🛠 fixed cheats (press 4th button in menu 3 times) ⚠️ added warning in menu (thx: Empty) no save function single session photosensitivity Bugs I am aware of but did not patch yet: Settings aren't saved across runs (Thx: many, incl. Natanox) No brightness setting (Thx: Jolly's headache) On non-typical screen resolutions, there may be unintended black bars (Thx: Tomi) SteamDeck doesn't work properly. Valve calls every Linux release a "SteamDeck" release too. Unfortunately, SteamDeck overwrites my in-game Controller input (e.g. Use is supposed to be Face Button Left, but ends up being Face Button Right). Idk why, I don't have a SteamDeck, so I won't optimize for it for now. Feel free to report bugs or request essential features, I may or may not get around to patch them in. Unfortunately, I have a day job and I'm very exhausted at the end of the week. Meow :3 - Theia
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• Announcements·29 May 2024Official

  The Elision Effect Release

  That's right. This Friday on the 31th of May, you will be able to play The Elision Effect on Steam. Imagine pressing that juicy play button, getting lost in the abandoned office rooms, where is anyone? Hello? Where is that noise coming from? Wha
  Read full article on Community Announcements (holly’s tea)