Press kit
Everything below is cleared for editorial use.
Logo, key art, screenshots and fact sheet — 8.1 MB.
Fact sheet
- Title
- Maximilien
- Subtitle
- A Psychological Horror Interactive Novel
- Developer
- Yohan Dupuy — solo
- Publisher
- Yohan Dupuy — self-published
- Release date
- October 26, 2026
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux — Android planned after release
- Languages
- English, French — Spanish planned after release
- Genre
- Interactive fiction, narrative horror
- Playtime
- 3–5 hours per route, 15–20 hours to complete
- Age rating
- 16+
- Input
- Keyboard and mouse, touchpad
- Engine
- Twine / SugarCube, packaged with Electron
- Development
- Seven years
- Based in
- Dordogne, France
Descriptions
Short — 50 words
Maximilien is a psychological horror interactive novel set in Boston, September 1926. You are Maximilien Cornwell, a psychology student and victim of recent discomforts. Four days, a clock ticking, and your mind withering.
Long — 120 words
“Born April 22, 1905, extinguished September 7, 1926. You should be in your grave, Mr. Cornwell.”
Boston, September 1926. 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.
Maximilien is a horror novel you play. The prose is dense and deliberate, written in the first person and the present tense. The investigation is systemic, an interactive map of the city, an inventory, a casebook, hunches that may not be worth following. A police investigation runs in parallel to yours. And a sanity system that changes your options and reading experience.
The numbers
- Words
- 110,000
- Passages
- 480
- Conditions
- 1,750, tracking choices and consequences
- Structure
- Four independent story paths, branch-and-bottleneck
- Endings
- 12
- Achievements
- 16
- Illustrations
- 54
- Original score
- Over two hours
- Sound designs
- 36
- Animation
- 17 animated sequences + 10 interactive ones
Screenshots
Click to enlarge — full resolution in the ZIP
Key art and logo
Text-free versions included
Credits
- Written and developed by
- Yohan Dupuy
- Original score
- Gaëtan Larant + Nicolas Thonney (SalOcin)
- Graphics and interface
- Nicolas Thonney (SalOcin) + Yohan Dupuy
- Illustrations and animations
- Yohan Dupuy / SDXL / Flux / Qwen
- English translation
- Lucia Desogus
Content
Rated 16+. The game deals with dissociation, mental illness, criminal violence including violence against children, suicide imagery, body horror and occultism. Full content warnings.
Coverage policy
Video and streaming coverage is permitted, including monetised coverage. Please credit the game and link to the Steam page. Everything in this kit is cleared for editorial use.
Links
Last updated: August 2026.