Name of the Will is a hand-drawn 2D psychological horror adventure set inside a cult-like institution where every student hides behind an identical smiling mask. Developed by Zeitgeist Studio and published by Hyper Real, it pairs quiet exploration with unsettling body horror, and its trailer footage shows a place built entirely around forced conformity.
Quick answer: Name of the Will is a 2D surreal psychological horror adventure from Zeitgeist Studio and Hyper Real, launching Early 2027.
What Name of the Will is
The game is a side-scrolling adventure with a distinct hand-drawn look. You control a subject in a facility-issued brown jumpsuit, with short pale-teal hair and bare feet, moving through a rigid school-like world. Pink directional arrows guide navigation, a white cursor handles point-and-click interaction, and a notebook icon in the lower-left corner holds your inventory.
Tone is the defining feature. The setting leans into surreal, oppressive imagery, and the footage does not shy away from graphic content, including a close-up of a bloodied, mutilated head. It is horror built on atmosphere and dread rather than jump scares alone.
The institution and its rules
Students sit rigidly at desks, all wearing the same porcelain-like smiling mask and matching uniforms. They perform synchronized hand gestures during assembly, eat together in a cafeteria, and applaud on command while monstrous authority figures watch over them. Numbers float above seated students, and subjects are addressed by digits rather than names.
The theme of enforced obedience runs through the writing. Green notification popups repeatedly order subject 3279 to proceed to Classroom 6 for “educational intake,” and a forced-feeding cutscene shows liquid being poured into a figure’s split mouth as an authority figure offers congratulations. The cinematic footage frames this directly with on-screen prompts like “WHAT IS HOPE TO YOU,” “CONFORM TO A LIE,” and “OR FACE YOUR GUILT TO ESCAPE.”
NPC encounters heighten the unease: talking to Auntie brings up a dialogue wheel with just one available reply, “Sorry,” while Neighbor 1320 tells the protagonist, “Truth is, you… shouldn’t be here.” A repeated religious, cult-like saying holds that the child doesn’t understand their actions, Father, and that foolishness should not be counted as sin.
Gameplay mechanics shown in the footage
The game moves between calm investigation and tense chase sequences. Exploration is side-scrolling, with point-and-click inspection layered on top for examining objects and solving puzzles. The mechanics on display cover several distinct systems.
- Branching dialogue with NPC character portraits
- Click on drawers and other objects to inspect them and uncover pliers, wrapped meat, a vial holding a bone, rope, an hourglass, and flesh with eyes.
- Symbol-based door puzzles solved by selecting etched glyphs
- Stealth movement, including pushing and hiding behind objects like dumpsters
- Chase and grapple sequences with visual distortion and chromatic aberration
- A camera viewfinder puzzle where an image distorts and flips inverted
Stealth appears to be central to survival. In one basement scene, the protagonist pushes a green dumpster and hides inside it as a large horned beast leaps past, showing how environmental objects double as cover against the facility’s guards.
The trailer revisits a striking visual reveal: in chase scenes, a glitching smiling mask fractures, exposing a human face and, later, an eye beneath it. This recurring image links puzzle-solving and evasion to the game’s central idea of revealing what conformity conceals.
Awards and festival recognition
The game has already collected festival honors, several of which appear as laurels in its own footage.
| Recognition | Event |
|---|---|
| Wings Award | A-MAZE. 2026 |
| 3rd Place | Neowiz Indie Quest |
| Festival laurel | A Maze 2024 |
| Festival laurel | Busan Indie Connect Festival 2024 |
When Name of the Will releases
Name of the Will is set to launch in Early 2027, the window confirmed by the closing title card. No exact release date, time, or platform lineup has been announced beyond that window.
Early 2027 is the only timing that has been stated so far, so treat any narrower date as unconfirmed until Zeitgeist Studio or Hyper Real shares one.
