The Coffin of Andy and Leyley

2023 indie game by Nemlei

2023 video game

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley

Promotional art

Developer(s)| Nemlei[1]
Publisher(s)| Kit9 Studio[2]
Engine| RPG Maker[3]
Platform(s)| Windows
Release|

Chapter 1 / original Itch.io demo

* March 25, 2023

[‡ 1]

Chapter 2 / early access

* October 13, 2023

[1]

Chapter 3

* 2024

[‡ 2]
Genre(s)| Adventure[4]
Psychological horror
Mode(s)| Single-player

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley is a psychological horror adventure game developed by Nemlei and published by Kit9 Studio for Microsoft Windows. The game originated as a demo released on Itch.io, and was later expanded and released on Steam in an early access state. The current version of the game features two of four planned episodes, the latter two of which are currently in development. The plot follows siblings Andrew and Ashley Graves, who find themselves in a codependent relationship with one another as they commit various crimes while trying to survive a dystopian world.

## Gameplay

[edit]

The starting area of The Coffin of Andy and Leyley, depicting the apartment in which the siblings are trapped.

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley is an adventure game presented from a top-down perspective, in which players, playing as sibling protagonists Andrew and Ashley Graves, explore the environment and solve puzzles to advance the narrative.[4] At times, the player is asked to make choices which may change the direction of the game's story,[4] and unlock one of multiple endings.[‡ 3]

## Plot

[edit]

### Episode 1

[edit]

Siblings Andrew and Ashley Graves have been trapped in their apartment for three months without food, following a quarantine order after an apparent parasite outbreak. Having been abandoned by their parents and left with no means to call for help, they are slowly starving. One day, they discover a cultist neighbor attempting to summon a demon. While the cultist succeeds, the demon steals his soul, and Andrew and Ashley decide to butcher and cannibalize his body for food.

Upon learning there is no outbreak and they are deliberately being starved to death as part of an illegal organ harvesting operation, the siblings plan to escape; Andrew kills one of the two guards keeping them imprisoned, while Ashley sacrifices the soul of the other to the demon. The demon offers Ashley a "trinket" which will supposedly give her clairvoyant dreams. Andrew and Ashley flee the apartment complex and go into hiding.

### Episode 2

[edit]

While in hiding, Andrew and Ashley find themselves destitute and running out of money. They see on the news that their apartment has burned down, and as such are presumed dead by the authorities, with the fire erasing all evidence of their prior crimes. The clairvoyance the demon granted to Ashley also proves to be real, as she uses a premonition to kill a hitman hunting her and Andrew. They decide to burglarize their parents' house to replenish their funds, but are interrupted when their mother arrives home earlier than expected. She is surprised by their appearance after their supposed deaths, but reluctantly allows them to stay for the night.

After the Graves family have an awkward dinner together, Ashley argues to Andrew that they should kill their parents in order to keep them from revealing that they survived, which would potentially incriminate them. In addition, there is the possibility their parents left them to die in the apartment in return for a life insurance payout. Unable to argue against this reasoning, he reluctantly agrees. The siblings take their parents hostage and sacrifice their souls in a ritual to the demon. They then butcher their parents' bodies and dispose of the remains, with Ashley cooking some of their meat into a soup which she and Andrew eat together.

Ashley and Andrew resolve to acquire new identities and continue their lives together. Depending on the players' prior choices, they may be antagonistic towards or friendly with one another. If the player pursues the corresponding narrative route, the demon's talisman causes Ashley and Andrew to see a potential future premonition of themselves entering an incestuous sexual relationship. In another path, Ashley experiences a premonition that Andrew will kill her, which she refuses to tell him about when she wakes.

## Development

[edit]

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley was developed by independent developer Nemlei.[1] Initially released as a demo on Itch.io,[‡ 1] it later received an early access release on Steam, which contained two of four planned episodes.[5] The two episodes currently in development are intended to be different versions of episode 3, being titled "Burial" and "Decay", following from the two different endings in episode 2.[‡ 2]

On November 27, 2023, publisher Kit9 Studio announced that they had acquired the publishing rights for The Coffin of Andy and Leyley, and that they would be managing further development of the title, with Nemlei opting to discontinue their online presence while continuing to provide art and writing for the game.[2][‡ 4]

## Reception

[edit]

Destructoid's Andrea Gonzalez gave The Coffin of Andy and Leyley a positive review, describing it as "a well-written exploration of a toxic sibling dynamic" and praising the overall tone of the narrative.[3] The Mary Sue's Ana Valens praised the game's exploration of taboo subject matter, stating that it "has an important commentary to share about abuse, trauma, and dysfunctional family dynamics",[6] while also comparing the events of chapter 2 to the Folgers "Coming Home" advertisement.[7]

Kotaku Australia's Emily Spindler expressed bewilderment at the game's content, juxtaposing the game's cannibalistic and incestuous themes with its "overwhelmingly positive" reception on Steam. She noted that over 7,000 Steam users positively reviewed The Coffin of Andy and Leyley, often leaving idiosyncratic comments jokingly endorsing the game's content.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Prescott, Shaun (October 16, 2023). "Five new Steam games you probably missed". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
2. ^ a b Bruno, Travis (November 30, 2023). "The Coffin of Andy and Leyley Development Shifts to Kit9 Studio". Capsule Computers. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
3. ^ a b Gonzalez, Andrea (November 12, 2023). "The Coffin of Andy and Leyley is horrifying and I can't get enough of it". Destructoid. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
4. ^ a b c d Spindler, Emily (November 24, 2023). "Cannibalism Is Somehow Only The Second Worst Thing You Can Do In The Coffin Of Andy And Leyley". Kotaku Australia. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
5. ^ はくまいさん [Hakumai] (October 20, 2023). "海外で人気が凄い狂気の共依存兄妹を描いたホラーゲーム『The Coffin of Andy and Leyley』がSteamにて配信中。サイコパスでヤンデレなブラコン妹と一見マトモな兄の掛け合いが面白い" [The Coffin of Andy and Leyley, a horror game about a crazy codependent brother and sister that is extremely popular overseas, is now available on Steam. The interaction between the psychopathic and yandere brother-con younger sister and the seemingly friendly older brother is interesting]. 電ファミニコゲーマー [Den Fami Nico Gamer] (in Japanese). 株式会社マレ [Mare Co., Ltd.] Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023. "現在は4話あるうちの2話までプレイ可能なので、今後のアップデートによって次の話が追加されるのを気長に待とう。" [Currently, you can play up to 2 of the 4 episodes, so please wait patiently for the next episode to be added in a future update.]
6. ^ Valens, Ana (December 11, 2023). "Why Are So Many People Upset With 'The Coffin of Andy and Leyley'?". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on December 21, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
7. ^ Valens, Ana (December 11, 2023). "The Dev Behind the Taboo Horror Game Everyone Is Talking About Just Addressed Whether It Will Change Its Subject Matter". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.

###  Primary sources

In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

1. ^ a b Nemlei (March 25, 2023). "CHANGELOG - The Coffin of Andy and Leyley [DEMO]". Itch.io. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
2. ^ a b Nemlei (December 10, 2023). "Devlog 07". Steam. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
3. ^ "The Coffin of Andy and Leyley on Steam". Steam. October 13, 2023. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
4. ^ Kit9 Studio (November 27, 2023). "Pre-Devlog Announcement". Steam Community. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

## External links

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* The Coffin of Andy and Leyley at IMDb
* The Coffin of Andy and Leyley at The Visual Novel Database

Portals:

* Horror
* Video games