The Kübler-Ross Change Curve is one of the most well known psychological explanations in the world: the five stages. Shock and denial come first, the news about a loved one passing away is one of the most shocking things a human being can experience. Anger and frustration begin to set in when awareness deepens and the fight to adjust to the new loss occurs. Bargaining and reflection take effect when one attempts to regain control of their emotions, stability, and meaning. Depression and sadness naturally happen when the loss is fully recognized and time has allowed the emotions to sink it. Finally, acceptance and integration kick in, the irreversible loss causes a person to adapt forcefully, and there is nothing to do but continue on.
For years, this has been imagined through textbooks and curve models, but now it has a different kind of visual interpretation. Indie developer Suversa, Nana have transformed the five stages into a playable experience with an edge of horror with Tape 101: Liminal Descent.
You are set in a liminal world, “a realm between spaces, where reality folds in on itself and meaning starts to decay.” You were never meant to be here, humans were never meant to be here, but you are and there’s no way out. “You are stranded in a place built from repetitions – beige corridors, tiled walkways, empty offices – always the same, yet never quite aligned the same way.” The only connection to reality is a small RC car with a camera attached to it, a tool that can be used to traverse smaller crevices like vents that humans cannot fit in.
The deeper you go, you will realize the architecture of each area mirrors the five stages. Each of the stages mentioned above are imagined as places rather than ideas or feelings. Here, there are no entities following you, just emptiness and your psyche. Pay attention, the RC is your method, the liminal is your language. Explore the liminal space, “and decide whether comprehension is a form of salvation – or another way to disappear.”
Tape 101: Liminal Descent is available to wishlist on Steam now and will be available September 18, 2026.