To those familiar with his work, the beautiful, awkward, RPG-influenced games of CARRIONBLUE are rare treasures. Developed over the course of about two months, the quirky, creepy Safety: Life Is a Maze is a semi-realtime action-puzzle-adventure rendered in a beautiful limited palette of blues. You control Mina, who finds herself trapped in a mysterious place, held captive by strange forces, and with a set of horns growing out of her head.



As you explore your surroundings, avoiding traps, collecting items, and fighting monsters, you’ll uncover the story through dialogue and via some creepy audio recordings. Safety is essentially an action game, but it is semi-turn-based and you move one tile at a time. Despite this, there are trappings of a real-time game, such as spike traps and other nasty things that move even when you don’t.

There are other arcade-like flourishes. Your health is measured in hearts, and you have a limited number of lives. Sections of the map are divided up into “boards” that you clear like levels. You engage in combat by bumping into enemies, and you take damage if they are stronger than you. Stepping on spikes and falling into pits will also damage you. Potions found in chests will replenish your health.

The look and gameplay of Safety capture a nostalgic quality, and also make the game feel like something completely new. Safety: Life Is a Maze was made with RPGMaker 2003, so it’s only available as a Windows download.