The Artifact
Free · play online in your browser, no download
An old terminal found in a storage unit, still warm. Type something and it answers, and the longer you play, the more it shows what it really is. Code written with Claude.
Official site partyon.itch.io, verified Nov 3, 2026. Linked from the developer's own Reddit post on r/indiegames; the itch.io author is Party On Games.
Where to play
Every platform this game is on. Links are checked against official sources; we never host or mirror games.
- Play free — itch.ioitch.ioReleasedFree
Plays in the browser on itch.io. No download.
Browser (no download) · Mobile · Official link verified Nov 3, 2026.
About The Artifact
The Artifact is a free mystery game played on a simulated old computer terminal in the browser. Its premise: “We found it in a storage unit. An old terminal, still warm. Type something. It will answer.” Per the developer it starts as a creepy Amstrad-style green screen and turns into something much bigger the longer you play; an average session is about an hour. It is text-based and online: you pick a username and password (no email or personal details), can type LOGIN to return, and other players met through the terminal are real people, with BLOCK and REPORT commands; the page says it is for players aged 13 and over. Anything that looks like a phone number, email address or link is removed before others can see it, and lines you type may be replayed anonymously by the game's simulated strangers, which answer from scripted rules. The developer, Party On Games, says the idea, design and testing are their own and the code was written with Claude; the page credits the game as designed and directed by Party On and built with Claude. Free in the browser on desktop and phone, in English.
Content note: Online text chat with other real players. The page says the game is for players aged 13 and over, offers BLOCK and REPORT, and removes phone numbers, email addresses and links from chat. (itch.io)
How it was built
Partially verifiedIn a post on r/indiegames (1 Nov 2026, UTC) the developer writes: “This is my project. The idea, design and testing are mine, and the code was written with Claude (an AI).” The itch.io page says: “Made with AI: designed and directed by Party On, built with Claude (Anthropic's AI).” Neither names a Claude product or model or gives a share of the code.
- Developeritch.io page: “Made with AI: designed and directed by Party On, built with Claude (Anthropic's AI).” The AI disclosure ticks AI Assisted, Code, Graphics, Sounds and Text. — itch.io
A single HTML file that draws the terminal in the browser and talks to a Supabase back end for accounts, saved progress, matchmaking between players, calls, crews, leaderboards and moderation. The simulated strangers are a scripted bot: they answer from pattern-matched replies and replay anonymised lines that real players typed. Designed, directed and tested by the developer; code written with Claude.
- Engine / framework
- None (single HTML file)
- Languages
- JavaScript
- Team size
- 1 (solo)Developer Reporteditch.io
- Development time
- Not disclosed
- Development cost
- Not disclosed
- AI-written code
- Not disclosed
“The idea, design and testing are mine, and the code was written with Claude (an AI).”Verification notes: AI use from the post by u/andytechuk on r/indiegames (1 Nov 2026, 23:35 UTC), read from the Arctic Shift Reddit archive on 8 Nov 2026; the post links the itch.io page. Premise, age note, privacy note, session length, languages, multiplayer type and AI notice from the itch.io page, re-read on 8 Nov 2026 (published 1 Nov 2026, 17:05 UTC; updated 5 Nov 2026; status Released; genre Interactive Fiction and Strategy; devlogs “Update 2.3” on 4 Nov and “The Artifact 3.1” on 5 Nov 2026). Runtime check: the game file (about 530 KB, read on 8 Nov 2026) loads Supabase's client library from public CDNs and Google Fonts and calls only the game's own Supabase project for accounts, progress, player-to-player chat and moderation; the simulated strangers reply with regular-expression rules and replay recorded player lines, and no AI service is called during play. Player chat is user-generated; the page offers BLOCK and REPORT and filters contact details. Team size: the itch.io profile describes Party On Games as “An independent developer”. The developer's other itch.io games (Sheep, Worm, TERMINAL_04) are separate. itch.io shows no rating or download count. The game was not played.
Development history
Game performance
Each figure measures something different — concurrent players, owners, downloads and sales are never interchangeable and are never added together. Labels show where each number comes from.
itch.io
Free in the browser (HTML5) on desktop and phone, with no download. Online play needs a username and password; no email is asked for. The page accepts optional support.
Not publicly available: itch.io rating, Gross revenue.
Reviews & rankings
Not yet reviewed by our editors.
Not currently ranked.
Sources
| Source | Type | Published | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| I designed a mystery game and built it with an AI: an old terminal that slowly reveals what it really is (r/indiegames) Reddit (u/andytechuk) | Social post | Nov 1, 2026 | Nov 3, 2026 |
| The Artifact by Party On Games itch.io | Store page | Nov 1, 2026 | Nov 3, 2026 |
| Party On Games on itch.io itch.io | Store page | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
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