Cultic Games and 1C Entertainment’s Kickstarted role-playing game, Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, is finally nearing its release. The game is scheduled to launch at some point in 2019, but for now gamers and backers can take solace in its ever-evolving approach toward a final release by downloading the free demo from over on the Steam store page.
The hand-drawn game was originally crowdfunded back in 2016. The game is a hand-drawn, hexagonal role-playing game with turn-based combat, and a story themed around the world that H.P. Lovecraft constructed a century ago.
Players will take on the role of various characters from eight different character archetypes, all themed around the occult, phenomenological, and paranormal backgrounds. YouTuber Retcon Raider has a detailed walkthrough of what the pros and cons are of each archetype and how they can be used in the game.
You’ll start off in a haunted town and must journey into the very depths of the Abyss itself. You’ll have a number of companions who will join you along the way, ranging from aperiodic specialists to antediluvian war veterans, and plenty of other characters in between.
Along the way you’ll have to tend to both your character and your companions’ mental health, as sanity will be as much a factor for your survival as your tactical abilities during combat.
And speaking of combat, the turn-based 2D perspective system is complimented with a new kind of black magic system that balances using powerful magic attacks at the cost of your sanity. It’s a risk/reward system that you’ll have to use sparingly and cautiously throughout the game.
It’s a little bit like Darkest Dungeon with a touch of Omerta: City of Gangsters and a dash of Xenonauts.
The game is set during the 1920s off the east coast of the U.S. Players won’t be trying to save the world, though. This takes place in a realm where the world is lost, and players will embrace their own personal drive to meet their own ends, for better or for worse.
You can grab the demo right now from the Steam store page and give it a playthrough for yourself.
For more information you can visit the official website.
(Thanks for the news tip Treavor)
