Ellipsoid horror classic Ecstatica and its sequel are back on Steam and GOG

Ecstatica is back. SNEG Games has re-released the 1994 horror game and its sequel, Ecstatica II, on Steam and GOG this week.

GamingOnLinux reports that both games are getting re-released with upgrades, though what those upgrades actually involve hasn't been laid out yet. If you're hoping for specific fixes or new options, hold that thought until the details surface.

The reason Ecstatica still turns heads is the way it looks. Instead of building its world from polygons like most 3D games, it leans heavily on ellipsoids, giving everything a rounded, bulbous look.

Rock Paper Shotgun's writer took a run at the game's tech and framed it as a glimpse of an alternative timeline in which polygonal 3D never became dominant. According to RPS, the ellipsoids are the basis for everything "from werewolf buttocks to the grain of castle flagstones."

That's a gloriously specific range, and it captures why this one has stuck around in people's memories for 32 years. Few games from that era look anything like it, and few since have tried.

RPS also called the result a "terrifying bubble-wrap reality," which is about as good a pitch for a survival-horror game as you'll find. The outlet doesn't expect the engine to challenge modern tools, but argues that revisiting historical alternatives like this one is worthwhile.

Both games are survival horror, and GamingOnLinux describes them as having a unique style not to be missed.

Ecstatica and Ecstatica II are available now on PC through Steam and GOG. SNEG Games hasn't detailed the upgrades included in the re-release.