In Sym.BIOS: Torn Asunder, players navigate tricky moral choices for seven main characters, witnessing immediate fallout and long-term ripple effects. This indie visual novel unfolds in a post-World War III future, from irradiated Rome to distant space colonies, where a philanthropist builds an underground sanctuary amid local resistance. A team of Harcos robot pilots defends the project, grappling with decisions on love, friendship, grief, and even hat jokes amid climate collapse and unrest.
Simple gameplay centers on selecting options that shape intimate character stories and dramatic endings. Veterans, medics, negotiators, and an AI companion face overwhelming responsibilities through every choice. Casual adventure fans who enjoy intricate narratives and consequence-driven paths will find it engaging.
Sym.BIOS: Torn Asunder is a Visual Novel about the tricky moral choices we have to make and their consequences: throughout the game, you will take decisions for the 7 main characters and face their immediate repercussions as well as the ripple effects down the line.
Sym.BIOS: Torn Asunder has it all: unique characters you’ll fall in love with; richly illustrated backgrounds that will make you travel from the Sistine Chapel in Rome to Colonies in outer space; an epic adventure with some unexpected plot twists; intimate stories about love, friendship and grief; and multiple jokes about hats.
With its simple gameplay and intricate story, it depicts a future that could be ours if climate change and ongoing economic and social unrest continue unchecked.
A STORY ABOUT A UTOPIA…
In 2364, the wounds of World War III are healed… but they left some ugly scars. In the Rome area (or what’s left of it), radiation still kills slowly and silently.
It’s the place Min-Joon Watal - an extremely wealthy philanthropist and heir to the Watal Industries empire – chose to build an underground sanctuary city: Tosca, sheltered from those deadly radioactive waves that poison the Lazio region. But what Watal didn’t see coming is the locals’ resistance to his project: they don’t trust this man who comes from the “Colonies”, these artificial satellites where the rich and famous took refuge, far from the Earth and its agony, its filth, its brutality. Conspiracy theories run wild about Tosca, civilian militias are formed to attack its construction site.
…THE TEAM DEFENDING IT…
In order to defend his utopia, Watal assembles a dream team of “Harcos” pilots, capable of maneuvering these giant combat robots. The operation is led by Galanos, a veteran who’s as taciturn as he is talented ; Oli, the reserved negotiation expert ; Joa, the medic with a slight paranoia problem, and his wife, Chrys, a bit rough around the edges… and really rough with her enemies ; and RoKo, the Artificial Intelligence who supports them and tries to make them laugh with his corny jokes, alongside his sensitive creator, Thomas, whose innocent and charming smile could melt an iceberg if there were any left.
…AND THE CHOICES THEY HAVE TO MAKE.
We gave a lot of thought to the best way to connect theme and style in this project, and how to use the specific inherent narrative devices of Visual Novels to their fullest extent… and it quickly became self-evident that Sym.BIOS: Torn Asunder had to be a story about choices. From Oli’s chronic indecisiveness to the overwhelming responsibility on Galanos’ shoulders every time he makes a decision for the team, this theme runs all through the story until its end, when every little choices will have potentially dramatic consequences on the game’s outcome.
