Maximilien — A Psychological Horror Interactive Novel

The story

An atmosphere of psychological horror. Boston, September 1926.

You are Maximilien Cornwell, a psychology student. A darkened past, an unnameable presence, and a mounting unease take shape as the authorities close in on the man they are already calling the "Ogre of South Boston". Something that does not belong to daylight presses at the edges of your dreams.

110,000 words · 480 passages 12 possible endings · 16 achievements A branch-and-bottleneck structure, and 1,750 conditions weighing your choices and their consequences.

A dense world

A city in ferment, and tainted with it. The gridded boulevards of South Boston, where Prohibition holds on. The university corridors steeped in old paper and in a knowledge that goes beyond reason.

Between the frailty of dreams, an inner truth coming to light, and a raw reality asserting itself, the border thins as you go. Every step opens branchings you did not suspect, and encounters that your conduct alone decides.

The writing is dense, precise, demanding, fed by Lovecraft, Poe, and the French roman noir. What unsettles you is never what you are shown. The story is demanding. How you meet it is up to you.

Built for immersion

A many-branched story that remembers everything you do.

A real investigation system: clues, an inventory, hunches, and an interactive map of Boston. Every item you collect can change what you understand, and what you decide.

Your psychological state distorts the very display of the text: letters blur, scatter and reassemble on the page.

A timeline built on a day and night cycle: a limited number of actions, and what you do at night is taken out of the following day. Each day is a decision about what you pursue, and what you let go.

A police suspicion system. An investigation runs in parallel to your own, and it forgets nothing.

Some sixty illustrations, over two hours of original score and sound design, some twenty animated and interactive sequences.

Difficulty settings, optional tutorials, control over visual effects, audio, and display.

More than it shows

Maximilien is a solo project, more than seven years in development, made by Yohan Dupuy and enriched by the contributions of professionals: Original score by Gaëtan Larant and Nicolas "Solynk" Thonney. Graphics and interface by Nicolas "Solynk" Thonney. English translation by Lucia Desogus.

Technical

Available in English and French.

Playable on Windows and Linux.

Keyboard and mouse.

Approximate playtime: 1 to 3 hours per playthrough, up to 4 to 5 hours.

Age rating: 16+

All text written by the author, English translation by a human translator.

Content warning: psychological horror, themes of dissociation, occultism, criminal violence, mental illness.

The investigation begins October 26, 2026… Add it to your wishlist now, and settle in for a rare literary experience.