The game world is a place of toil, suffering and darkness. There are no elves, dwarfs, dragons or other classical fantasy creatures. There are some light magical elements, but no overwhelmingly powerful sorcerers either. Many centuries past, Giants roamed the world, living peacefully alongside humans until the war between the two species left the Giants extinct. Some years ago, a cabal of scientists discovered a process to extract the Life Essence of the ancient Giants from their bones. This mystical fluid promised to cure many different diseases, mend grievous wounds, and perhaps even halt the aging process. Unfortunately, instead of improving the health of the subject, very often the serum would have the opposite effect, inflicting a mutation or lethal disease. Until the exact nature of this wondrous medicine can be determined, experiments on unwilling subjects continue. The story begins when the main character, Urtuk, escapes from the Sanatorium, a facility where these experiments are carried out on abducted commoners. Urtuk suffered a severe mutation from his exposure to the Life Essence, and with every passing day his health worsens. Now he wanders the world in search of a cure. Unless he can find a way to counter his evolving mutation, Urtuk must eventually die.