If you miss classic Thief, Deus Ex, or even Half-Life, you need to keep an eye on Gloomwood. A retro-looking immersive sim from the developer of Dusk, this is a stealth game unlike any other. Since Gloomwood launched in 2022 it’s amassed more than 5,700 user reviews and nabbed the coveted ‘overwhelmingly positive’ score from players. The Steam Early Access launch has been going from strength to strength, and Gloomwood’s latest update completely recontextualizes how you play the entire game.
Gloomwood starts with your abduction. You awaken in a twisted Victorian metropolis undergoing a demonic transformation, and have only your trusty canesword to get out alive. Men and monsters roam the streets, so you’ll need to use the shadows to scavenge for goods, weapons, and resources to find an escape route. You can scurry across rooftops, dive into buildings, and utilize a robust stealth and sound system – Gloomwood is like classic Thief through and through.
Now, the stealth game’s latest free update completely changes how you engage with the world around you and the beasts who call it home. Gloomwood’s new patch introduces the research mechanic, which you can use to become even more powerful than before. With your new bonesaw, you can collect the body parts of any defeated beasts and take them back to the lighthouse. Once there, you can conduct research into each monster to create serums that let you turn into that very demon.
Depending on the monster you now embody, you’ll get a plethora of new abilities. Goatmen turn you into walking tanks, Bat Barbers help you jump high and fall with grace, and Crowmen offer you extra speed. Now, each beast looks less like a threat and more like an opportunity. Immersive sims are all about using the world around you in unexpected ways (Prey’s GLOO Cannon always springs to my mind), and Gloomwood’s new research mechanic understands this perfectly.
This latest update isn’t just about morphing into a monster, however. The doctor’s journal has had a complete overhaul, so now it’ll look and feel as though you’re flipping through real pages of information. Your current health status, files, maps, research documents, and keys are collected in a stunning leather-bound book, adding another layer of immersion to proceedings. As a major fan of diegetic design (Isaac Clarke’s health and inventory in Dead Space are my personal favorites), this is more than enough for me to take Gloomwood for another spin.
Publisher New Blood Interactive has released the Gloomwood Research update alongside a 25% off sale, so expect to pay $14.99 / £12.56 until Monday April 21. Just head here.
In the meantime, make sure you check out all the best old games and single-player games currently available on PC.
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