Church Of Stratum Prologue | Religious Cult's Hidden Bunker | Indie Horror Game 

I knew something looks familiar when watching this, one of the developers I chat with on one of the Discord Servers has been developing this game. The developer has been working on this for over a year actually. I have only seen screenshots and bits of gameplay in the Discord server that I chat with them, so nice to see some full-on gameplay of their project.

Seems to be more of a puzzle solving mystery game than a horror game. No jump scares. It looks interesting though. Maybe falling over the rail was just the demo's way of ending the demo.

I wish horror game devs would make their environments make more sense - there's a logic to how places people live or work are laid out, and we don't see that logic in game environments much. It breaks my sense of immersion. This game, though, has a lot of potential - just needs a lot more exploration of the people and their society.

I need that cat blanket

I would love to see you play the whole game Chris, loved the details, the different areas, the puzzles and I definitely wanna find out more about the story. Why did they need a bunker in the first place, protecting themselves from whom or what? What did they believe in and most of all about the riot or mutiny or whatever happened. Why did they turn against each other? So many questions..

So I pretty much was in love with this the whole beginning and middle and I was absolutely mesmerized by the visuals and that picture you took of the lake and all the inventory and notes. The interactions were just perfect and I loved everything about it!! They did everything right with how to move objects and doors and how inventory worked and how the tutorial was like incorporating the game into it so you weren’t taken out of the atmosphere of the story it was beautiful! I started to wish there was a threat in those creepy bunker halls and maybe a locker hiding system but honestly the story and the way they did it I wasn’t needing an enemy it definitely could of been added to add a risk factor but it’s not necessary to make the game better. The biggest complaint is that ending note I’m praying we aren’t dead and we just got knocked out for a bit and we’ll wake up and keep exploring and then maybe an enemy or some threat will be present but if we did just legit die that way I’d be a bit upset hahaha but I’m definitely super stoked for the full game I can’t wait to see it I hope it comes out soon and you play it for us!! I really think this game has serious gems in it and could be a top game so don’t lose hope in it because of the ending I’m hoping they did that as a major cliffhanger!

First things first: *CAT THROW!* 😸 😹 For me, the prologue was an odd mixture of pluses and minuses: an interesting premise backed up by very little lore, fun functionality & mechanics which were then underused, and a large area to explore which felt strangely empty and static. And that bizarre ending! All-in-all, though, the pluses outweighed the minuses, imo. And, yeah, I'd like to see the full game when it's released. 👍

Woooow! That ending was a surprise fall. Wasn't expecting that to happen. Many blessings to CJU and everyone in the comments section.

I need more lore. I hope the full game goes deeper.

the ability to go to the past is quite awesome. getting to see things before they fell apart. needing a fuse is common,but its rare to see the fuse break in real time while looking at the fuse box! that ending was unexpected! - "yeah...underground stories are rough to make, since its hard to convince people that they exist. and the bigger they are the harder it is to believe. in this case,we don't even know what the actual entrance is. the elevators is my best guess. but they should have to go through a cave/mountain. i'm a little interested in seeing more. but i'd be fine if it ended here.

I love the characters comments on the paintings 😂. This game seems really cool, I like the different mechanics and the story actually seems interesting.

I demand that the cat blanket be in all future videos. :D This is looking interesting so far! Thanks as always for a great video!

I really like this !! The fact that there’s something in almost every drawer is really realistic to me .. also the interact-ability with all the items is super cool to me too !! Really good job devs !! Can’t wait to see this when it’s fully released !!

That ending was very frustrating, but the game was pretty cool! I'm really curious about the full game, looking forward to it!

Appreciate the consistent uploads! Don't have time to watch at the moment but I'll leave a like for the algorithm.

I love how you can switch back from past to present. I loved the shocked expression on your face at the end. Great video.😂👍

This was great. Loved the interactivity, the environments, the mystery. I hope there will be some threat in the full game, and I hope to see you play it.

I’ve spent the last year both watching your new uploads and all your old ones. My favorite channel

This was great! I love the sense of humor. Excited for the rest of the game!!

I love how the image of the 2 cats on your GF's chair appear to be watching you play.

I love the explanations for the various artworks.

This was fun, but wow that WAS unfair, the ending! I would love to see you play the finished game ! ( I really chuckled at the paintings descriptions...)

Would love to see you play this, I'm intrigued!

I just have to say I stumbled upon your channel by accident. But you've now become one of my top horror go to channels. I'll enjoy binging your uploads :)

Really enjoyed this pregame. Especially with your comments. Please play when it comes out. Thanks so much. ❤❤

Great prologue. Please make this a series when it comes out!

What happened to left is always right ? Maybe the character died at the end because he was always hugging the right wall 😂😂

Ever heard of "time to crate"? In games, it's the time it takes until you run into a crate of some kind. I've heard someone describe it as the point that developers ran out of ideas. There ought to be something called "time to fuse" in horror games.

The simple joy when the video is longer than 30 mins! 😌🤌🏼

Thanks for playing, hope you enjoyed the game.

Thankyou! Id love to see the full playthough.

This looks great. A nice reprieve from being chased by a grotesque monster through buckets of blood (though there's nothing wrong with that!). This looks like a possible thoughtful story. I'll watch if you play. Thanks Chris!

i liked this, hopefully therell be more to follow the prologue

Love the idea of exploring places like this. They should at least had let you ring the bell in the chapel (...and wake the dead?). The ending was hilarious, _"Thanks for visting. Buh-bye..."_ 👻

Can't wait to see the full version of it

Definitely would like to see a playthrough of the full game! I have so many story questions!!!

I hope Chris makes it to 100k before the end of the year!

The commentary on the paintings is a nice bit of silliness.

I found the comments on the religious pictures so funny! "He looks sad" ended me :)) Would love to see you play the full game!

The room is looking goooooooood chris

I thought this was really good and would love to see the full game on the channel.

Hope this one is good! Thanks for the upload. On to 100K!!!

Alright starting my Friday right!

Gz on 100k subs

More of a mystery, putting the pieces together than actual horror but I liked it... until that ending! I concur, Chris!

I REALLY like the concept of being able to see the past around you, but not interact with it, I'd love to see you play more of this!

I loved all of it, though the ending should of shown a ghost pushing you off of the railing or you looking up to see a ghost or three staring down at you.

I'd love to see the full playthrough when it comes out. The whole thing was really well done, except that end. That seemed out of place. But oh how cute the kitty thing in the background is 🐈

This game has everything! Suspense. Time travel! Missing fuses! An American Cult. BATHROOMS!!!

"What is it to wade through water? Alt and F4?" 😭😭🤣🤣 5:24

hand railing had a clean cut ( no idea why ) , char leaning forward in the cutscene , railing broke , he followed and fell

I liked it. Not all horror games need to have jumpscares or a monster chasing you for it to be interesting

I got the "you should check the box on the railing first" ending ;P

That tape player has remarkable fidelity.

This game is way too cool. The "mysterious lantern" cranks it up a notch for me! 👍🏻😊 Where did David's clothes go? Definitely want to see a full play-thru. What in the hell was that ending!?

Being the prologue, I'm not mad it ends abruptly. Opens some possibilities. But that fall was ridiculous lmao I would definitely like to see the rest.

I'd definitely be up for watching a full playthrough of this. I'm really curious to know what happened. I don't know why, but I feel like your character was pushed over the railing. Just a weird ending. Hope you play this one on the channel.

Default like and comment for the algorithm bump and to get Chris closer to 100k!!

I'm definitely sure that you wasn't alone there... and the game itself looks really nice and I always enjoyed little glimpses to the past. If only they could maintain their working space in a more logical manner.

I thought the main character was pushed, there was that black blob at the top of the railing. Anyway, this was interesting and I would like to see more when it comes out!

Loved this game

i am kind of curious about the next installment of this game it looks pretty good keep it in mind please i would def watch a seies of this if they make enough which hopefully they will c you in the next vid

Maybe something pushed you or possessed you. Or there could be some sort of poisonous gas/mold. Really enjoyed this!

I like exploration games. Currently have 5 of them.

It would be interesting to learn more in full game, especially the time travel bit

Chris's uncanny comment timing ability strikes yet again: "Is this like a secret entrance... " "Dead end."

The game does force you to interact with the box on the rail so really wouldn't have changed anything. Bit of a goofy ending though. Also you could have shut that alarm off by pushing the button below it haha.

The color scheme was a little reminiscent of Nova Prospekt. I wonder what that vast area was behind the barred gate? They a sophisticated vault. Their church had money, lots of it.

I would love to see the whole game once it's out

Looks very good. Needs threats! 👍

This looks perfect to me, I don't really like the "monsterbattle" moments in games (the reason I'm on this channel is Chris' brilliant style, it feels friendly and easygoing, like Bigclive) I've wishlisted it on Steam. I kickstarted Firmament so I'm used to waiting for a game 😁

I wish you would have used the "watch the past" lantern more often. Maybe the ghost of one of the mutinying cult members pushed you over the railing.

Here I'm looking at the beginning of the video and sth else caught my eye: thought there were 2 cats at the background but it was in fact a fancy cat blanket xD

It immediately reminded me of far cry 5, the wilderness with a cult compound thrown in haha

I’d like to see more.

Has a bit of a Sylvio vibe as well, which is good. Hopefully it doesn't end like Sylvio 2, though...

please revisit the other game demos you've played before, you played welcome to hanwell 4 years ago, the full game please when you have a space in your game lineup

Falling in a mysterious room, with maybe no way out,this is way you should never go alone, I hope this ends well

ahahahahaha BEST. ENDING. EVER!

Well crafted game. More puzzle solving exploration than horror game but perhaps the devs have that ahead in the full game. It definitely could do with some tension and a threat element. It also needs more exposition as it doesn’t explain anything about this cult, can’t get invested as a player.

I hope that you do play the game for the channel when it comes out 🙂

I'm sure I'll be in the small minority with what I'm about to say, but I'm posting this while bearing in mind that this is only the prologue. I've enjoyed the first segment. Aside from the foliage outside, the main character's a bit on the lively side as he makes cheeky comments on whatever he finds. The bunker's environment wasn't bad either. But as you progress further into the game, the place somehow felt dry. Sure, there were signs that people used to be here (graffiti on the walls, letters you picked up, etc.), but with the hallways being so long-winded and the rooms far apart, these signs were sparsely scattered throughout. A lot of the rooms have the same type of furnishings and machinery, the rubble felt copy-pasted (as if everyone else decided to fall one floor down, the way the main character did), and even the chapel section looked depressingly bare to explore. Add to that, the main character has gone quiet (we don't even see him reply to David's ghost). If that wasn't enough, the way it ended force-scripts you to lean over the loose railing so you'd fall off, even if you weren't close to it. On the plus side, at least you don't have to hunt for batteries for your flashlight and the game did offer some other mechanics such as talking to a ghost and using a mysterious lamp to activate the past..... though after being scarred many times on other games that throws various mechanics into the pot for 1-time use just because it looks cool, I can't help but be skeptical with the last 2. This is only the prologue, so who knows. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that things may become better from here..... as well as give us a good reason to use our camera, aside from taking pics for souvenirs.

Quite an ending.

It was doing absurdly well until he was pulled by an invisible magnet and threw himself off the railing of the stairs... hahahahahaha. But I liked it, I'm interested to know the full game!

It was a bit TOO clean, but at least you can interact with a lot of stuff. Maybe some things will be fleshed out in the full game.

Finally first 🤧

cannot wait until the full game comes out! I cannot believe the ending tho... what the fuck?? it was like the player committed suicide!!!

By its terms, this was supposed to be "a story driven puzzle adventure game with a spooky atmosphere." And since whatever atmosphere DID exist was completely undone by the pseudo-memey quips by the protagonist whenever they viewed a painting, I'm gonna go ahead and call this one below average. The ending perfectly encapsulates the experience IMO.

"It's not going to be like a Cryostasis" - Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well. ^^

*whilst Lol love that

I've been watching Chris's videos for a while but What does CJU mean ?

"Cryostasis" holy shit, i haven't heard that name in a while

a good game

interesting, I wouldn't mind the full game...as this was a prologue anyway, it is a big tutorial. Full game may have some 'baddies'..since we are supposed to be interested but not invested in this character, the death end made sense...

YOU DID JUMP YOU PRESSED OVER THE LEDGE YOU GOT WHAT YOU DESERVED REWATCH IT

Metal coins should really be worth more than a bunch of paper.

Release date for full version known?

Maybe your character got pushed by something at the very end, and that's why he went through the railing?

Yeah, it was alright. Something to eat soup to and not spill any.

first like yet again :-)