Flesh of the Killer

"'In a dark freeport on the edge of the city the artworks are stored; it's a members-only institution and a secret to everybody. That's why BB and her friends want to document as much as possible before they get kicked out. But why does the vault have no security guards? Just what has been evolving underground in the forbidden Museum Of Moral Art? And if inanimate objects could have morals, would we understand them?'"Flesh of the Killer is the fifth game in the Strange Town series, released on Gamejolt on June 27th, 2021. It follows BB and her three companions - Max, Claude, and Ray - as they explore a private art museum.

Links

 * Download video - https://gamejolt.com/games/fleshofthekiller/627901
 * Gameplay video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvo7qVVBPT4

Story
BB and three others are shown busting out of a crate in a dark storage room, navigating their way to a door and a placard indicating the entrance to the "Museum of Moral Art". BB is then prompted to provide a lead-in, and recaps their goal to confirm an urban legend of a private museum on the outskirts of the city, as part of a community college assignment. The museum predominantly displays morality-themed art, which has received a boon from the ongoing killings in the city. She also provides the crew's names and roles on the mission: the photography expert, Max, the art history expert, Claude, the rational aesthetics expert, Ray, and herself, the zine expert.

Upon entering, the group split up through the main hallway; Claude and Ray head to the left, while Max heads to the right. BB follows Max, noting the hot and humid environment of the gallery, and passes through a collection of strangers-themed pieces. The two then enter a room full of elephant-themed pieces, one of which was a childhood nightmare of BB - she enters the "Hall of Morality-Improving Mechanisms" alone, wandering into a storeroom of unfinished pieces and finds a second-floor keycard. Upon returning to the elephant room, the paintings are knocked astray, and Max is nowhere to be seen. BB then enters the left hallway, finding a clown-themed gallery and the other two. The three embark up to the second floor, using BB's keycard to access the other end of the balcony - along the way, Claude narrates the predominance of M.T. Lott, a predominant figure of the neo-moral art movement. The three discover a strange gallery of unknown M.T. Lott paintings, gradually getting more and more messily construed, until they encounter Lamassu at the end. Ray attempts to fight off the Lion, but is promptly eaten, with BB soon following.

BB then awakens as a golden figure posed in a strange location, unsure as to why she is holding a vase. Attempting to leave, she encounters a visage of the elephant and is expelled from a painting, returning to her usual self. She finds paintings of Ray and Max, but is unable to reach up to them to do anything, and heads off in hopes of escape - along the way, she encounters copious paintings of herself engaged in "moral" activities, and accidentally wanders into a painting of a door. Now purple, BB finds herself in a gross-smelling cavern populated by symbolic Strangers, and finds another door leading to a painting out. She finds herself in the executive suite, with paintings of the managers adorning the walls - implied to be victims of Lamassu.

BB then finds Claude outside, whipping himself with a security lanyard to protect himself from Lamassu. The two head out, hoping to find Max and Ray and promptly escape. With the path ahead blocked by Lamassu, BB and Claude take a side route out, encountering a flier explaining more of M.T. Lott's goals and role in construction of the mechanical lion. Eventually, they find a room with all the canvases stripped clean save for a single massive one, prominently featuring Lamassu and their two missing friends. The two are then captured and transported into the painting, realizing with terror that it is "realism". BB nervously sneaks her way through the painting and find all three of her companions awaiting death by Lamassu, and together they devise a plan. Using the mindless mechanical workings of the creature to their advantage, BB, Max, and Claude hold a moral play to distract Lamassu, allowing Ray to sneak upon it and stab its head. After a long struggle, they slay Lamassu, and find a fire escape to finally leave the museum - BB wonders if they have capsized the international art market, but according to the papers, the museum continues to operate like nothing has happened. M.T. Lott's influence is said to have further spread and even produced a children's cartoon starring a stylized version of Lamassu, implied to be the doing of the robot's lingering influence.

Trivia

 * This is the first game in the series to feature other characters joining BB on one of her expeditions.
 * It is also the first game since Hands of the Killer not to feature an appearance by The Killer, though mentions are still made of the murders he has conducted and a statue of him is visible in one of the painting worlds.