Steal Death’s power and break free of his corrupt realm! Hide your heartbeat from the dead as you harness soul magic, navigate political intrigue, determine the fate of the Afterlife—and perhaps even claim its throne yourself.

Escape from Death is a 256,000-word interactive horror adventure novel by Tova Näslund. I sat down with Tova to talk about her work. Escape from Death releases this Thursday, October 12th. You can play the first three chapters for free, today. 

This game has such an interesting premise. Tell me about your inspiration.

I came up with the setting of this game when I was in my teens. At the time, I had just discovered Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys, and Holly Black’s Modern Faerie Tales. It was my first foray into urban fantasy, and these two in particular really sparked a lot of creativity in me. The world remains pretty much the same to this day, as well as some of the major characters, such as Aaron, Gavin, and Desi.

You’ve done a fair amount of work in narrative design and gaming, but this is your first solo interactive fiction, right? Tell me about your other work.

That’s right! I’ve been interested in Interactive Fiction ever since I discovered the genre at Uni. I’ve been designing table-top roleplaying games and larps as part of the indie scene in London, and the collaborative storytelling elements of roleplaying translate very well into interactive narratives. My most notable ttrpg work is a scenario called “Acceptable Losses”, which can be found in the anthology of story games “Seven Wonders”, published by Pelgrane Press. Other than that, I’m working on some really cool projects at Toadman Interactive!

What did you find most challenging about working in ChoiceScript?

It took me some time before I managed to handle the technical aspects of ChoiceScript. Once I realized the full potential of the engine, I had a lot more fun designing choices and giving the player more room to explore the world.

What do you think players will enjoy most about Escape from Death?

I hope that players will enjoy immersing themselves in the world of the Afterlife! The setting is very near and dear to me, as well as the characters that inhabit the world, having been on my mind for so long. I had a lot of fun making them come to “life”, for a lack of a better world!

What are you working on next?

I’m planning on writing a sci-fi novel! It’s still in very early stages, but it’s an idea that I’m very excited about.