Vermis

Simply put "Vermis" is an extremely limited print run of an official guide for a video game that doesn't actually exist.  That might sound like a strange thing to publish, but it's really an artbook designed to inspire the reader.  What's most interesting about it, I feel, is trying to reverse engineer what kind of game it's supposed to be referring to.  Overall, the images and accompanying text are very evocative with a great deal of emphasis on trying to drawn out the reader's imagination.

Most people who have viewed the book and shared their opinions online, seem to think it's basically a Dark Souls clone.  Since the art in the book isn't really trying to replicate actual screenshots, I can't confirm or deny this assertion.  That said, I don't see why Vermis couldn't just as easily be a JRPG, CRPG or some sort of dungeon crawler.

While there isn't a whole lot in the way of mechanics, stats or rules, the content of the book is actually quite extensive.  The early pages are dedicated to status ailments and character archetypes.  There are some example starting items, nods toward a good and evil alignment system as well as some basic attributes (Strength, Intelligence, Faith and Will).  After that there's a page dedicated to six known deities:

• Ghylak the Cursed
• Dorvus the Truth
• Murgo the Relentless
• Gurvek the Great
• Marko the Oracle
• Ketereth the Wrath

From this point on the guidebook starts to get into what is presumably the actual meat of the game.  The first location is "Greengrave", a garden for the dead.  Twelve different possible encounters are mentioned; half of which are (understandably) skeletal undead.  Run-ins with NPCs are also detailed and, in a neat little flourish, even feature quotes of dialogue.  A pseudo-map (one of many found in the book) show how to reach the next area - "The Pauper's Catacombs".  

As you can probably surmise, the format is a linear explanation of how to progress through various areas with tips on solving puzzles and avoiding traps.  Chalked throughout are baroquely named objects such as the "Ring of a Thousand Eyes" or a sword bearing the name "Memory of the Stinger".  The locations have similarly florid designations such as "The Silver Swamp", "The Pestilent Mines" and "The Flutewood Forest".  

The art itself is consistent from beginning to end owing to it all being the work of a person by the name of "Pastiboo".  It's deliberately dark and sometimes a little murky but, much like the text, the goal is to spark the imagination.  I'd have to say that the general impression is one of eerie foreboding with a melancholic bent.  Unlike a lot of artists who dabble in this style, there isn't much in the way of gratuitous nudity or attempts to appeal to gorehounds.  If anything Arthurian legends seem to be the primary inspiration. 

On a final note Vermis ends somewhat abruptly deep underground in a drowned labyrinth.  Given that the book has the roman numeral "I" in the title, I think it's safe to say that another installment might be forthcoming.  Whether or not part two ever sees the light of day is anyone's guess.  Still, it is such an oddity of gaming, I thought for posterity's sake I would at least mention it here.