Apple Arcade’s new Neversong game was inspired by developer’s near-death experience

This story is part of CNET’s coverage of Apple Arcade, including exclusive first glimpses, we received some of the service’s best-known new games.

On Friday, Apple Arcade added one of its most intense games to date to its growing catalog of over 100 games. Neversong, formerly called “Once Upon a Coma”, is an indie game by Serenity Forge. In the side-scrolling-style puzzle game, you play as a young Peet who is in a nightmare when he wakes up from a coma.

Since his girlfriend is nowhere to be found, Peet has to navigate through the fearsome halls of the Blackfork Asylum and try to understand the sometimes violent behavior of adults. The more he researches, the more the secrets of his past unfold.

Neversong has six levels to explore, including Red Wind Field and Blackfork Asylum, which are all full of bosses to defeat. With a baseball bat, his childhood friends, and his pet bird, Peet wants to learn the truth about his coma.

For Serenity Forge founder Zhenghua Yang, Neversong is more than just a game. It is based on a true story. An illness drastically reduced his platelet count, and the doctors gave up hope. But Yang miraculously survived. While recovering in a hospital for two years, he struggled with loneliness – lost contact with his friends and was out of college. To deal with it, he turned to video games like League of Legends and Final Fantasy. Yang found a whole new support community there.

After he was healed and returned to his life, he couldn’t stop thinking about the role video games had played in his recovery process. Yang said he believes video games are no longer just distractions for children, but can inspire people of all ages and teach practical skills.

“You can advance science. You can heal trauma. You can solve conflicts,” he said.

With the release of Apple Arcade in September, Apple firmly anchored its claim in the mobile gaming world. The subscription game service costs $ 4.99 per month (£ 4.99, AU $ 7.99) and enables you to play 100 new and exclusive games on iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod Touch and Apple TV.