There were several options; it honestly looked like a Steam store page with all the options. Honestly, I felt kinda depressed about my situation. I wanted to have kids, find love, travel the world, and now I'm this. Even though it feels like what I'm experiencing is real, it's the fact that once the game instance is over, I'll just return right here and back to that perfect day gone wrong.
I decided to see the General genres available. Which were: Horror, Adventure, Action, Fanfiction, Casual, RPG, Dating, Simulator, Sports, Arcade, Strategy, and, surprisingly enough, "Miscellaneous". I decided to do a test run and started a Carnival Arcade Game instance. The Carnival practically stretched out for miles with various attractions and games that were all apparently free. Most concerning, however, was the scrolling text I was seeing. It looked like a chatroom, which was fine and dandy, but it took me a second to position it correctly so it wasn't blocking my vision.
Using the Carnival Arcade instance with all the free games and rides, I used each place to calibrate controls and figure out how everything works. Eventually, I ended the instance once I was satisfied. I was notified that A Majority of game instances did not end until a target goal is reached. So in the end, I spent time figuring out controls and making sure I could at the very least not embarrass myself.
Anyway, eventually I felt ready enough and began scrolling, as much as a Pirate adventure sounded fun, my depression sadly wasn't having it. So I settled for one of the most lethal horror games out there. The scene was set in a village, and there were 5 players. Each player would draw a Role card since the game was heavily role-playing. The Cards were as follows: Farmer's kid, Mayor's favorite kid, Baker's assistant, Junior hunter, and probably one of the most sought-after cards was the nurse's assistant. This was because of how high the death tolls in this game were; they locked it into adult-only maturity. The best sights in the world were in that clinic. However, feeling like everything was pointless, I drew first and got the farmer's kid.
I didn't really care much for the other people, so I jumped into my role immediately before they could introduce each other. I blinked and woke up in a house. The feeling of walking and being able to move so freely felt amazing. I didn't really care to check in on the others. I immediately immersed myself in the world.
I was surprised that this was considered this was a horror game. It looked so peaceful and carefree. At the very least, it felt refreshing to be able to move and speak. It was easy to notice the world was paused, meaning I could properly orient myself. I used the profile option to bring up the role card. Since I was the farmer's kid, it meant I had the least impact on the story, supposedly. Then again, at the moment, I just wanted to pretend life was normal.
Eventually, the system notified me that the game was starting soon. Since there were so many farms, it would take the other players a while to figure out which farmer's kid I was. I figured it'd be easier to manage if I followed what I remember about farming. Which was starting chores and work before the crack of dawn. Out of boredom, I woke up far too early and went to work anyway.
Started by weed pulling in the garden and the cropfield, which took along while. Eventually, I got done and placed the weeds in the compost bin I noticed in the garden. The father seemed surprised but pleased that I got up so early to work. I did chores like fixing various things, cleaning the animals, feeding the animals, tending to the crops, and tending to the garden. I even got to cook with the Mother character. It felt like a genuine slice of life, then the other players started to come around sniffing for where I could be.
Apparently, they had started a player-run group, which, in all honesty, felt like it broke their character backstories and personalities. So to avoid running into their karma or potential fate, I started acting like an NPC. Just so that way if they go down for failing to role-play, they don't drag me with them. Eventually, it was easy to notice the red flags of a horror game. After all, a village setting didn't have as many tropes as one might think.
The game did seem like a Southern Gothic, but the real question was which path the game was gonna to take. There weren't any abandoned buildings from the way the village was. No one knew could move into town without it being majorly noticed by the villagers. Unless it was the other player characters, one could assume evil couldn't be summoned. Considering everything, it was quite easy to check for cult activity, which thankfully, there was none of.
Everything just seemed normal, like there was nothing wrong.