A truly great horror game is hard to beat, and the new game, The Occultist, looks like it’s aiming for just that – focusing on genuine scares and a captivating story. After the fast-paced action of Resident Evil Requiem, many horror fans might be looking for a more classic, story-driven experience, and The Occultist could deliver when it launches on April 8.
Developed by DALOAR (previously known as Pentakill Studios), The Occultist starts with a classic story: you play as Alan Rebels, a paranormal investigator trying to find his missing father. All that’s left after his father’s disappearance are Alan’s memories of Godstone, the strange island where his father grew up. Driven by a desire for answers and to find his dad, Alan travels to Godstone, equipped with a few tools and his experience as an investigator. However, nothing could have prepared him for the unsettling and unusual things he’ll discover there.
The Occultist Hones In On the Atmosphere, Puzzles, and Exploration
The game The Occultist, currently offering a free demo on Steam, is set on the island of Godstone, which was deserted in 1950. Before its abandonment, the island was home to a disturbing cult that conducted cruel experiments and rituals. These rituals appear to have had strange and awful effects, turning Godstone into a supernatural and terrifying place.
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The game’s core idea feels similar to the Silent Hill series, and it’s clear The Occultist draws inspiration from that classic horror franchise. However, when you actually play, it feels much more like Resident Evil 7. Like that game, it’s played from a first-person view and focuses more on creating a creepy atmosphere and solving puzzles than on constant fighting. You won’t be running around shooting enemies or collecting powerful weapons – you’re an investigator, not a soldier. This approach makes the game much more suspenseful and makes you feel vulnerable, which ultimately enhances the horror experience.
Unlike games focused on battling monsters, Alan Rebels’ The Occultist centers around solving mysteries and discovering the truth. Gameplay largely consists of puzzles, some of which have already been previewed. Players will explore and solve these puzzles using unique tools, like a special glass that reveals hidden details and a pendant allowing them to rewind time. The developers aim to use these gameplay mechanics to create a truly unsettling cosmic horror experience.
‘Can a Blind Person Describe the Light?’— How The Occultist Is Capturing Cosmic Horror
Cosmic horror, a genre heavily inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, focuses on big, unsettling ideas about existence and reality. These stories aren’t usually about immediate threats, but rather concepts so enormous and strange that they can cause madness and deep, instinctive fear. A prime example is Lovecraft’s ‘The Call of Cthulhu,’ which features a terrifying, gigantic creature that can drive people insane just by being seen. In video games, this type of horror is often created by manipulating what the player perceives, as seen in games like Bloodborne, where the player’s vision changes based on how much ‘Insight’ they have.
It seems The Occultist is aiming to fully utilize its unique format, much like other works in the series. A trailer features Alan pondering the age-old conflict between good and evil, and questioning if someone without sight can truly understand light. He argues that humans have limited perception, essentially ‘blind’ to the supernatural world. It’s through Alan’s special abilities as a paranormal investigator that the true nature of reality becomes clear. These ideas are deeply unsettling and explore vast, cosmic themes.
I’m really excited about how The Occultist seems to be building its magic around classic folklore. The trailer showed the protagonist defeating a ghost by cleverly using a mirror – it reminded me of the detailed magic rules in The Witcher, and it feels like this game is going to have that same kind of structured magical system. When you add that to the Lovecraftian hints of hidden, terrifying things, it creates a really fascinating world. I’m hoping that all translates into some truly unique and interesting ways to actually play the game, too!
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2026-04-04 08:04