Mindscape

by neolog
co-authored: @letmefree

Congratulations on accepting your offer! On behalf of everyone at CELL Labs, I would like to formally welcome you. We were impressed with your skills and believe you have a bright future with us.


Your first task will be beta testing our new CELLS Aptitude Test (CAT). We have sent you an internal computer. In our hurry to onboard you we left the computer in a messy state, but you have access to all the information to complete the task. Remember: CELL Labs loves you!


Play Here

Paper and pencil recommended. Scroll to access mail.

Proudly presented for Ludum Dare 60 by Groundbreaking Studios

Comments20

letmefree19 Oct 2026, 19:09
hello testing testing
Kiddoo
Kiddoo20 Oct 2026, 00:25
Not convinced by the experience, but the game looks good and it's immersive. Well done :-)
AO-85
AO-8520 Oct 2026, 04:15
Awesome, your game is magnificent! I had a blast playing it, really cool stuff!
EKLSN20 Oct 2026, 04:42
Damn I like how accurate did you portray the terminal :)
maxxxMAX20 Oct 2026, 04:56
It has a great detective atmosphere. I also really enjoyed rummaging through someone else’s PC.
Jooooooise20 Oct 2026, 05:09
I really enjoyed interacting with the terminal, but I was a little lost. Maybe consider letting the ↑ and ↓ keys cycle through previous commands to avoid repeated typing? The overall style is fantastic!
half-and-half20 Oct 2026, 08:08
This feels very authentic... the hum of the machine and clicky clacky keys was super, plus the (very real) frustration of font choice in the introductory letter. Even the bewilderment of not know what on earth I'm doing, made me pine for my old Amstrad and simpler explorative times. Very nice!
Avi
Avi20 Oct 2026, 10:16
You've nailed that old terminal look! The “CELL Labs loves you” welcome is already making me suspicious haha. Having to dig through someone else's messy computer is a great setup for a mystery.
Rachie20 Oct 2026, 10:28
Such a unique style, you guys did an amazing job!
dracco_0n20 Oct 2026, 11:16
I wasn’t able to finish the game because I got a bit lost and couldn’t figure out how to return to the main screen after clicking on a letter. But I surely like the shader style in the game :)
Ralex_x20 Oct 2026, 11:38
The vibe is quite intriguing. The color dispersion of character and gray hue really put a special vibe.
WitheredWizard20 Oct 2026, 16:11
This one really makes you think. I like the idea.
JustinMullin20 Oct 2026, 19:21
Well, I don't think I'm going to finish this one on the first go here. There's a lot to dig into! I'd like to come back to this at some point because I want to see where it was going, but I spent about 30 minutes on it and need to move on to other games. Very cool what I've seen so far - I love these sorts of pseudo-ARG experiences.

Some spoiler-y discussion of what I've done and where I'm stuck:
!> I can get to Mustard's room to the east, but can't do anything there. It just says I enter the room, and no other options.
!> I have gotten the A1 LED to turn on.
!> I have decrypted the passwords, and logged in and scoured the drive as all the other users. Mustard can see the services files, but all interactions with those files fail, so I'm not sure what else to do there. Scarlet's sequence B files allow me to input a code in the hatches room that lets out smoke, but no other sign of what that's done I've been able to find.
!> I see watch in the lobby, and the game seems to want me to grab it, but I can't
!> I have a bunch of other half leads that I can't figure out

All in all, I'm happy with the experience that I got out of this, but I'm intrigued to see what I missed!
Miguel Monteiro
Miguel Monteiro20 Oct 2026, 22:07
Cool little game, reminiscent of the adventures games of old. The print mechanic is a fun twist!
_radiolaria
_radiolaria21 Oct 2026, 06:47
I LOVE THIS. I unfortunately didn't figure out how to see all the commands to get through the game, but I adore the sound design and visuals. Great work!
Nesmon21 Oct 2026, 11:01
Good work! Good game! Good usage of theme. I don't think there is something bad at all!
mushlord
mushlord21 Oct 2026, 15:36
Awesome atmosphere; it really brings to mind the style of Mike Klubnika. I enjoyed the interaction with the terminal—the game is good.
Pigeonescu
Pigeonescu21 Oct 2026, 19:44
Really cool atmosphere, It reminded me a bit of stanley's parable. I got a bit lost at some point, would love some extra info about the game on the itch page.
ok_octopus13
ok_octopus1321 Oct 2026, 20:11
This was a super neat game! I loved using the old terminal, and the sounds were super satisfying. I can totally see this being a full puzzle game I would play. I definitely agree with the user saying up and down arrows to redo commands would have been nice to have. But this is a fantastic entry!
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