The Dev Behind the Taboo Horror Game Everyone Is Talking About Just Addressed Whether It Will Change Its Subject Matter
"The fear over this is pretty intense."
I’m a little obsessed with The Coffin of Andy and Leyley. 20-something siblings Andy and Ashley Graves have the perfect chemistry, loving and hating each other (and themselves) in equal measure, all while getting into all sorts of cannibalistic occult shenanigans—resulting in some controversy IRL.
Nemlei and Kit9 Studio’s indie horror game perfectly captures the disturbingly enticing nature of codpendent sibling relationships in all their highs and lows (and believe me, there are some true lows in this game). For Twitter users in gaming and fandom spaces, The Coffin of Andy and Leyley is that game. You know, the one that went viral on Twitter over its certain taboo subject matter.
I’ll refrain from mentioning specifics in this opening section, but just know that there are major spoilers from here on out for The Coffin of Andy and Leyley’s first two episodes in this article. If you want to get up to speed, you should read our explainer on the game and its controversy.
Anyway, Nemlei and Kit9 just put out a new devlog for Andy and Leyley, where Nemlei addressed the game’s controversy and discussed whether the coming episodes will downplay the horror title’s more divisive subject matters. And the developer, to their credit, pretty much said what every fan was hoping for: The dark, messed up stuff in this game is here to stay.
We’re getting more Andy and Leyley in the next 12 months?
In devlog seven, Nemlei revealed a few key details about The Coffin of Andy and Leyley’s next content update. The next episode will launch “sometime in 2024,” and Nemlei said there will be four episodes in total—”Two of which are completely different versions of episode 3,” they explained. We’re currently at episode 2 right now, so it seems like we’re about to see a lot of branching narrative paths as the game’s development continues.
All that aside, Nemlei finally opened up on the most pressing and controversial aspect of The Coffin of Andy and Leyley: Its dark subject matter. After opening with cannibalism and then moving over to parental sacrifice (and more cannibalism!), Andy and Leyley veered into overt incest content with episode 2’s closing vision. In the scene, Ashley and Andy are shown relaxing together in bed, naked, flirting with each other after having sex.
This vision greatly disturbs Andy, who wants nothing more than to avoid having sex with his sister, while Ashley is a little bit more open to the idea. You can even let Ashley tease Andy over the moment, suggesting she always thought the two would inevitably hook up.
The game’s incest segment thrust The Coffin of Andy and Leyley into the viral spotlight, sparking adoration, disgust, criticism, and lots of adult fan art. Some players loved the scene; others felt it missed the mark. Granted, it was always obvious that Andy and Ashley were a little too close for comfort as siblings, something their own mother noticed during episode 2. The second episode just made their sexual chemistry undeniable (like watching the Folgers Christmas ad as an adult).
The Coffin of Andy and Leyley‘s controversy, addressed
While Nemlei didn’t directly utter the words “incest” in their devlog, the blog post opened with an image of Ashley playing with green and pink stuffed bunnies, making them kiss as a disturbed Andy looks on. This set the stage for the rest of the post, where Nemlei generally discussed the game’s dark subject matter and themes. More explicitly, to the FAQ question, “Will you be toning down the story from now on?” Nemlei responded, “Haha!! Nope.”
“Kit9 Studio will take care of all the business things as well as programming, which allows me to focus on creating the story and art in blessed silence. The game will be better for it, since my attention won’t be divided all over the place anymore,” Nemlei said later in the devlog. “And no, again, I’m not changing the story. The fear over this is pretty intense, lol.”
Nemlei then proceeded to “climb up to my ivory tower now, never to be seen again,” although they did hope the game’s future content would spark “morbid joy” for the game’s fans. This means we’re certain to receive even more dark, strange, and disturbing content as The Coffin of Andy and Leyley continues—which, yes, could theoretically include a full rendition of that incest vision. Among other things. We’ll have to wait and see until the next installment is out.
In other news, we’re also getting merchandise for The Coffin of Andy and Leyley in the near future. Yay! But first, the priority right now “is to finish the game.” So don’t expect to buy any official merch until after the game is complete.
(featured image: Kit9 Studio, remix by Ana Valens)
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
