Genuine Article

Everyone wants your seal. Not everyone wants the truth.

Vienna, 1901. You step behind the counter of an antiques appraisal bureau. Clients bring valuables, family heirlooms and convincing stories. But an object's worth and the truth of its origins are two different things.

A magnifying glass, acid, reference books and a keen eye — these are your starting tools for your first day on the job. Learn to spot what your clients would rather hide. Your findings will become an official document. And your seal can lend weight even to a lie.

Examine objects. Don't guess the answers.

Inspect hallmarks and signs of wear, test metals on a touchstone and check your discoveries against reference books. One small detail can cast doubt on a client's entire story.

A genuine object doesn't always come with an honest history. And a suspicious visitor isn't necessarily carrying a fake.

The game never states the answer and there is no hint button.

Decide what to certify

Gathering evidence is only part of the job. Reach a conclusion, support it with what you actually saw, and press your seal into the wax. Once the wax has set, nothing can be rewritten.

Sometimes the truth isn't what people are willing to pay for. Will your verdict stay honest when a lie becomes more profitable?

What's in this demo

• your first working day at the bureau: five clients, one after another
• three tools: the loupe, the touchstone with acid, the book of hallmarks
• the full certificate ritual: verdict, grounds, signature, hot wax, seal
• the evening: a hiding place in your uncle's furniture, and the ledger
• the morning of the second day — where the demo stops

About an hour. Mouse only. Single player.

What's not in the demo yet

The remaining tools arrive in the full game, one per day: scales, water, raking light, a brass template, breath on cold metal, and your uncle's ledger. Days two through seven, the four endings and the rest of the hiding places are not here either.

What seems like a thorough examination today will be just the first step tomorrow.

Languages

English, Ukrainian, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Romanian, Norwegian, Turkish, Russian, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese.

In the Ukrainian version the bureau stands in Lviv, not Vienna — the city, the street and the names are all changed. Both cities belonged to the same empire and the same system of assay offices, so nothing in the story breaks.

The full game

Genuine Article releases on Steam. If the demo holds you, the wishlist is the thing that helps most.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5089930/?utm_source=itch&utm_campaign=demo

A note on the art

The illustrations were made with generative AI tools and then reworked by hand, scene by scene, to hold one consistent style. The hallmarks, dates and assay practices in the game are checked against historical sources.

Spotting a fake is only half the job. Will you have the courage to expose it?