This year's PC Gaming Showcase ended with one last announcement. A trailer for a horror-action game titled Gloomwood by indie studio New Blood Interactive. Throughout the show, New Blood showed off a considerable catalog of games that can charitably be called creative remixes of ideas from the late 1990s and early 2000s. For example, Ultrakill is a fusion of the arena-shooting insanity of the early Quake games and the style-focused arcade action of the Devil May Cry series.
Gloomwood is no different. It is a stealth horror FPS that follows your mysterious abduction to a forgotten, twisted Victorian metropolis in the midst of a horrifying transformation. You are equipped with a sword cane and are encouraged to take to the shadows, sneaking past security and infiltrating strongholds. The entire city is full of intricate secret passages and rooftops to travel across. There is a robust sight and sound-based stealth system where you're encouraged to be mindful of your surroundings. The world is highly interactive, encouraging you to eavesdrop on guards for clues, peek through keyholes to get a lay of the land, and cause distractions
Also, you have guns. A basic six-shot revolver and a folding shotgun for you to use in case things get hectic. These guns have limited ammo, but at least if you get caught, you have an explosive way to remove your problem. As the trailer says with a wink and a nod, it's like you're playing the seminal stealth game, Thief, while also having access to firearms. The link to their Steam page is even called thiefwithguns.com
It's a ridiculous mash-up considering how at odds the two games' very design philosophies are with one another, but it seems New Blood Interactive wants you to experience it for yourself since a demo for the game has just dropped on Steam.
