Imagine taking the storytelling and extra-dimensional horror elements of H.P. Lovecraft’s work and then extrapolating that into the isometric, turn-based strategy elements that Micropose made famous with X-Com way back in the 1990s when video games were actually good. What you would end up with is the unsettling new horror title from Sleepy Sentry.

There are a couple of videos made available over on the IndieGoGo page where the game is currently seeking a fixed goal of €46,000 in order to complete development and move toward a 2020 release on PC.

The first trailer outlines the game’s story, which is set during the Cold War back in 1958. You take control of the USS Salem, a submarine that becomes trapped at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ridge, where the crew must explore and find a way out.

Exploration and combat is setup via turn-based gameplay, identical to the old tile-based X-Com games.

You’ll venture around various environments and uncover secrets and items through the fog of war while also engaging with the underwater minions of the sea.

The highlight here with Stirring Abyss is that it combines the Lovecraftian horror with the X-Com premise, so you’ll have to deal with things like psychic oppression and cosmic madness.

You can get a brief glimpse of what the gameplay is like with the prototype gameplay video below.

Given that the game is set during the Cold War era, your weapons will be pertinent from that time, so you’ll have knives, spearguns, mines, flares, and welding equipment at your disposal.

It’s very much like X-Com: Terror From The Deep, but instead of the game being about an extermination squad going out to kill fish people, you’re an exploration squad trying to find out what’s going on at the bottom of the ocean.

The game uses the AP (action point) system so you’ll have to manage your AP wisely, to both get a tactical advantage over the enemy and to execute attacks.

The submarine will work as your base of operations, where you’ll need to repair the USS Salem, find material to upgrade your crew equipment, and attempt to escape.

You can learn more about Stirring Abyss by visiting the IndieGoGo page.