Gloomwood

Last updated
Gloomwood
Gloomwood cover.png
Developer(s)
  • Dillon Rogers
  • David Szymanski
Publisher(s) New Blood Interactive
Engine Unity [1]
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release
  • Early access
  • September 5, 2022
Genre(s)
Mode(s) Single-player

Gloomwood is a first-person stealth survival horror video game developed by Dillon Rogers and David Szymanski and published by New Blood Interactive. Players control an unnamed doctor who makes his way through the Victorian-esque titular city. The game features stealth and exploratory gameplay, along with utilizing weapons (melee and firearms) against enemies.

Contents

The game is heavily inspired by the Thief series of games, especially its first two: The Dark Project (1998) and The Metal Age (2000). [2] It has also been favorably compared to Dishonored , [3] Bloodborne , [4] Sir, You Are Being Hunted , [5] Resident Evil , [6] BioShock , [7] and Deathloop . [8] It has also been referred to as an immersive sim. [9] [2] [3] [10]

Having been announced in June 2020, Gloomwood was released via early access on September 5, 2022, after a delay from its initial August 16, 2022 date. The pre-release builds have received praise for the atmosphere, tone, world, level design and gameplay, but has been criticized for the unfinished elements and difficulty.

Gameplay

Gloomwood takes place from a first-person perspective, with the game having the player navigate the titular city. Players have the option to rely on either stealth or weapons, with stealth often being the most encouraged strategy. [11] The player character is given a ring, which indicates the level of light in the environment and the amount of noise being generated. For instance, being exposed to light or walking on metal and rock surfaces increases the likelihood of alerting enemies. Conversely, remaining in darker, shadowy areas and moving on quieter surfaces are encouraged to avoid detection. With a stealth approach, players can take down unsuspecting enemies from behind with a sword cane and eavesdrop to obtain information, [7] and items like bottles and cans can be thrown to distract them. [12]

In addition to stealth, players have the ability to fight with various types of weapons, including a sword cane, [13] different types of guns (revolvers and shotguns [14] ) with ammo for them occasionally scattered around the map, and explosive barrels that can be activated on shot. [15] The amount of ammo that can be found depends on the selected difficulty. [16] The weapons can also be opened to check how much ammo is in them. Traps and harpoon guns can also be obtained. [7]

Players carry a briefcase, which uses a grid-based inventory system, that has a finite amount of space (which has drawn comparisons to Resident Evil 4's inventory system [17] [18] ). There are health items (such as syringes), coins, keys, and maps. [12]

Areas of the map contain gramophones (indicated from the music they play), which act as save points [8] (similar to Resident Evil's typewriter system [11] ). The map also contains secret areas with extra pickups, and shortcuts that are unlocked with different keys. [11] There are puzzles to complete within the map as well. [10]

Setting

The titular city of Gloomwood has been described as neo-Victorian, [19] [20] gothic, [21] [22] steampunk-esque, [8] [15] and industrial. [23] The city is made up of multiple areas in one interconnected map. [24] Some of the main areas of the map include a fishery, mines, and a lighthouse. [25] [26] The interior for a tavern was added in a subsequent update. [27] On July 25, 2023, a market district was added to the map, which includes a merchant's shop to buy and sell items. [28] Within the map are enemies, including hunters and hounds, [29] that patrol the areas. [10] They travel in a set pattern unless alerted or provoked by the player. [30]

Release

Pre-release

On June 16, 2020, the game was announced at the 2020 PC Gaming Show with a reveal trailer. [20] In the trailer, Terri Brosius (who previously voiced Viktoria in the first two Thief games) voiced the Countess of Gloomwood. Over Twitter, Dillon Rogers confirmed her involvement. [6] A demo was released on the same day, [5] and the early access release was given an initial release date of August 16, 2022. [17]

In reference to its similarities with the Thief series, the developers bought the domain "ThiefWithGuns.com" for the game. [30] [31]

Prior to the early access release, Dillon Rogers teased at upcoming features for the game, [6] such as the inclusion for new weapons and destructible lighting. [32]

Early access was delayed and pushed to September 6, 2022 due to development and COVID-19 related issues. As a compromise, the "Act 2" update for New Blood's Ultrakill was released. [33] [34] New Blood Interactive co-founder, Dave Oshry, uploaded a video to Twitter featuring Malcolm McDowell addressing the fans of the game. [35]

On September 5 (a day before), early access for the game released on Steam for $20 USD. [36] New Blood Interactive co-founder, Dave Oshry, explained the release timing was done to avoid overlap with CD Projekt's showcase of extra content for Cyberpunk 2077 . This resulted in Gloomwood becoming #1 on Steam's top 10 for 24 hours. [37]

Early access reception

The early access release of Gloomwood has received positive reviews from critics and players [3] alike. By September 7, 2022, the game garnered an "overwhelmingly positive" score out of a thousand ratings on Steam. [37]

Many critics heavily praised the game's level design, [12] [11] [38] with Renata Price of Vice Media saying, "[It] isn’t just good—it's exceptional," [16] and Andrew King of TheGamer stating, "[The game] is a brilliant exercise in small scale level design against the backdrop of a larger world." [39]

The atmosphere, [11] world, [38] and gameplay mechanics [9] have also received praise.

Aaron Boehm of Bloody Disgusting called it "a classic in the making." [11]

Andrei Pechalin of The Escapist called Gloomwood "a masterclass" in its use of cost–benefit scenarios, where players must weigh the benefits between using acquired gear against enemies or eschewing from doing so in order to avoid detection and/or to conserve the gear. [8]

The game has also been criticized for its unfinished elements. Alice Bell of Rock Paper Shotgun gave an overall positive review, calling it, "a grubby delight of a game", but criticized its unfinished nature. Because of this, Bell didn't recommend it on launch. [15] Morgan Park of PC Gamer drew similar conclusions, stating, "It's good as-is, but unless you're truly desperate for an immersive sim fix, you're better off waiting until it's all out, which is exactly what I intend to do now." [12]

Gloomwood was also the subject of an 18-minute documentary by Noclip. [40]

Related Research Articles

A stealth game is a type of video game in which the player primarily uses stealth to avoid or overcome opponents. Games in the genre typically allow the player to remain undetected by hiding, sneaking, or using disguises. Some games allow the player to choose between a stealthy approach or directly attacking antagonists, but rewarding the player for greater use of stealth. The genre has employed espionage, counter-terrorism, and rogue themes, with protagonists that are special forces operatives, special agents, secret agents, thieves, ninjas, or assassins. Some games have also combined stealth elements with other genres, such as first-person shooters and also platformers.

<i>Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines</i> 2004 action role-playing video game

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is a 2004 action role-playing video game developed by Troika Games and published by Activision for Microsoft Windows. Set in White Wolf Publishing's World of Darkness, the game is based on White Wolf's role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade and follows a human who is killed and revived as a fledgling vampire. The game depicts the fledgling's journey through early 21st-century Los Angeles to uncover the truth behind a recently discovered relic that heralds the end of all vampires.

<i>Thief: Deadly Shadows</i> 2004 video game

Thief: Deadly Shadows is a stealth video game developed by Ion Storm for Microsoft Windows and Xbox that was released in 2004, on May 25 in North America and on June 11 in Europe. It is the third video game in the Thief series.

<i>Sir, You Are Being Hunted</i> 2014 video game

Sir, You Are Being Hunted is an open world survival horror stealth video game developed by Big Robot for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux. An alpha version of the game was made available on 19 August 2013. After years of no updates, in September 2021 the game was updated to version 1.5 by the external Dutch game development studio Den of Thieves Games.

<i>Cube World</i> 2019 video game

Cube World is an action role-playing game developed and published by Picroma for Microsoft Windows. Wolfram von Funck, the game's designer, began developing the game in June 2011, and was later joined by his wife, Sarah. An alpha version of the game was released on July 2, 2013, but saw sparse updates and communication from von Funck, with many considering the game to be vaporware until he officially released it on September 30, 2019.

Rust is a multiplayer survival video game developed by Facepunch Studios. It was first released in early access in December 2013 and received its full release in February 2018. Rust is available on Windows and macOS. Console versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One developed in conjunction with Double Eleven were released in May 2021. Rust was initially created as a clone of DayZ, a popular mod for ARMA 2, with crafting elements akin to those in Minecraft.

<i>Noct</i> (video game) 2015 video game

Noct is an unfinished survival horror top-down shooter video game by Canada-based indie developer C3SK and published by Devolver Digital. The game was made available in early access for Linux, macOS, and Microsoft Windows in October 2015. It was removed from the Steam store in 2021.

<i>Call to Arms</i> (video game) 2015 real-time strategy video game

Call to Arms is a real-time tactics and strategy video game developed by German company Digitalmindsoft as the spiritual successor to the Men of War series. It was released in April 2018. A stand-alone expansion pack, titled Gates of Hell: Ostfront, was released in 2021.

An immersive sim (simulation) is a video game genre that emphasizes player choice. Its core, defining trait is the use of simulated systems that respond to a variety of player actions which, combined with a comparatively broad array of player abilities, allow the game to support varied and creative solutions to problems, as well as emergent gameplay beyond what has been explicitly designed by the developer. This definition is not to be confused with game systems which allow player choice in a confined sense or systems which allow players to easily escape consequences of their choices.

<i>Lethe – Episode One</i> 2016 survival horror video game

Lethe – Episode One is a 2016 first-person survival horror video game created by Greek indie developer Koukou Studios and published by Faber Interactive. It was released on 1 August 2016. Episode One is the first game of the Lethe series of planned video games that take place in the same universe but as of March 2018, no other episodes were published, which is why Episode One is also referred to as Lethe.

<i>Totally Accurate Battlegrounds</i> 2018 video game

Totally Accurate Battlegrounds (TABG) is a multiplayer battle royale video game developed by Swedish studio Landfall Games, and a spin-off of Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (TABS). Similarly to how TABS parodies the battle simulator genre of video games, TABG is a parody of the battle royale genre, primarily titles such as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite, and features exaggerated player and weapon physics. The game was released on Steam on June 5, 2018.

<i>GTFO</i> (video game) 2021 first-person shooter game

GTFO is a 2021 cooperative first-person shooter game developed and published by 10 Chambers. GTFO released in early access for Windows on December 9, 2019. The game was officially released two years later, on December 10, 2021, during The Game Awards 2021. In the game, the players control prisoners sent into a facility overrun by monsters and use guns, tools, and melee weapons to dispatch the monsters and complete objectives.

<i>Warhammer 40,000: Darktide</i> 2022 video game

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a first-person action video game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, developed and published by Fatshark. It is a spiritual successor to the Warhammer: Vermintide series. It was released for Microsoft Windows on 30 November 2022. It also was released for Xbox Series X/S on 4 October 2023, and for PlayStation 5 on 3 December 2024.

<i>Teardown</i> (video game) 2022 video game

Teardown is a 2022 sandbox–puzzle video game developed and published by Tuxedo Labs. The game revolves around the owner of a financially stricken demolition company, who is caught undertaking a questionable job and becomes entangled between helping police investigations and taking on further dubious assignments. Teardown features levels made of destructible voxels, and the player follows the campaign through consecutive missions. In most missions, the player must collect or destroy objects connected to a security alarm that triggers a timer. The player has unlimited time to prepare and is given upgradable tools, vehicles, and explosives to create a path within the level that allows them to complete the objectives and reach a getaway vehicle before the timer runs out.

<i>Ultrakill</i> 2020 video game

Ultrakill is a first-person shooter video game developed by Arsi "Hakita" Patala and published by New Blood Interactive. It was released on Steam through Early Access for Microsoft Windows on 3 September 2020. The game uses retro-style graphics reminiscent of video games from the early PlayStation consoles and combines modern movement mechanics like those of Titanfall and Doom Eternal with gameplay elements from action games like Devil May Cry.

<i>Choo-Choo Charles</i> 2022 video game

Choo-Choo Charles is a 2022 horror game developed and published by Two Star Games. The player controls a monster-hunting archivist with the goal of upgrading their train's defenses in order to fight and defeat the titular character, Charles, an evil spider-train hybrid monster that wanders the landscape looking for people to eat.

<i>Dread Delusion</i> 2022 video game

Dread Delusion is a 2024 video game developed by independent studio Lovely Hellplace and published by DreadXP. Described as an "open world" role-playing game brimming with strange places and dark perils," Dread Delusion encourages player exploration and discovery over the use of combat and grinding. Upon release, Dread Delusion received average reviews, with praise directed by critics to the game's setting, narrative and worldbuilding, and mixed views over the execution and depth of the game's combat mechanics.

<i>20 Minutes Till Dawn</i> 2023 video game

20 Minutes Till Dawn is a roguelike shoot 'em up game by flanne. The player controls a character who fights against continuous waves of monsters, with the goal being to survive the onslaught until dawn. During each round a player earns gems, with which they are able to unlock additional characters, weapons, and runes for subsequent sessions. The gameplay of 20 Minutes Till Dawn is inspired by Vampire Survivors, with the main difference being that the characters in 20 Minutes Till Dawn do not attack or recharge their weapons automatically.

<i>Partisans 1941</i> 2020 video game

Partisans 1941 is a real-time tactics video game developed by Alter Games and published by Daedalic Entertainment in 2020. Players control Soviet partisans fighting against invading German troops during World War II.

References

  1. ↑ Jester (September 17, 2022). "Gloomwood – Refreshing and Disappointing At the Same Time". GND-Tech.com. Retrieved July 29, 2023. (this is a Unity engine game anyway and the engine has Vulkan support)
  2. 1 2 Moyse, Chris (June 13, 2020). "Gloomwood's stealth 'n' slash action invokes '90s classic Thief". Destructoid . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Tate, Alexander (September 9, 2022). "Gloomwood Turns Dishonored Into A Survival Horror Nightmare". Screen Rant . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  4. ↑ Wallace, Chris (September 6, 2022). "First-person stealth game 'Gloomwood' sneaks into Early Access". NME . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Smith, Graham (June 13, 2020). "Gloomwood demo is out now with heavy Thief vibes". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Litchfield, Ted (September 14, 2022). "One of our most anticipated games since 2020 is about to enter early access". PC Gamer . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Blaine, Lucas (July 22, 2021). "Gloomwood Mixes BioShock and Thief Into a Throwback Package". CBR.com . Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Pechalin, Andrei (September 30, 2022). "Gloomwood Disrupts the Immersive Sim & Thief Formula with Its Save System". The Escapist . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Jackson, Claire (September 13, 2022). "Stealth Games Like This New Sneak 'Em Up Are A Rare Breed". Kotaku . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 Donlan, Christian (September 7, 2022). "Gloomwood is stealthy Victoriana incarnate - and it's already super good". Eurogamer . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Boehm, Aaron (September 13, 2022). "'Gloomwood' Early Access Proves It's a Stealth Horror Classic in the Making". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Park, Morgan (September 9, 2022). "Gloomwood is too good to play unfinished". PC Gamer . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  13. ↑ Armstrong, Patrick (September 17, 2022). "5 Beginner Tips For Gloomwood". Game Rant . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  14. ↑ Marty, Emily Mei (January 29, 2023). "Gloomwood: Best Weapons, Ranked". Game Rant . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 Bell, Alice (September 12, 2022). "Gloomwood's grimy stealth playground deserves better than the agony of early access". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  16. 1 2 Price, Renata (September 9, 2022). "'Gloomwood' Is More Than Just a Spiritual Successor to 'Thief'". Waypoint. Vice Media . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  17. 1 2 Wheeler, CJ (June 13, 2022). "'Thief with guns' stealth 'em up Gloomwood shoots into early access in August". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  18. ↑ Wright, Steven T. (June 24, 2021). "Gloomwood Developer Is Tired Of Explaining How The Game's Fancy Shotgun Works". GameSpot . Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  19. ↑ Bolding, Jonathan (January 9, 2022). "Here's a big update on Gloomwood, that neo-Victorian stealth horror game". PC Gamer . Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  20. 1 2 McGlynn, Anthony (June 14, 2020). "Gloomwood is a Thief-like survival horror from the makers of Dusk". PCGamesN . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  21. ↑ Moyse, Chris (June 12, 2022). "Gothic 'n' gory Gloomwood hits Early Access August 16". Destructoid . Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  22. ↑ Pattni, Chirag (August 4, 2022). "Gloomwood has been delayed a few weeks, but Malcolm McDowell says 'you can wait'". PC Invasion . Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  23. ↑ Zak, Robert (September 14, 2022). "Gloomwood Is A Grindhouse Thief With Some Soulsy Level Design". DualShockers. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  24. ↑ Chalk, Andy (June 13, 2020). "Gloomwood is a neo-Victorian stealth-horror game that looks like Thief, but isn't". PC Gamer . Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  25. ↑ Minakov, Vladislav (September 28, 2022). "Gloomwood: Coin Location Guide". TheGamer. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  26. ↑ Suther, Austin (September 16, 2022). "Gloomwood Snuck Its Way Into My Heart". TechRaptor. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  27. ↑ Lane, Rick (December 22, 2022). "Gloomwood's final update of the year adds a pub and lets you quicksave". PC Gamer . Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  28. ↑ Serin, Kaan (July 25, 2023). "Spooky stealth 'em up Gloomwood adds bustling market district in latest update". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  29. ↑ Minakov, Vladislav (September 28, 2022). "Gloomwood: 5 Beginner Tips". TheGamer. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  30. 1 2 Robertson, Adi (October 25, 2022). "Gloomwood is my new favorite knocking-guys-out simulator". The Verge . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  31. ↑ Nichiporchik, Alex (May 30, 2023). "Tips To Get Your Game Noticed By Publishers And Investors". Forbes . Retrieved July 8, 2023. Retro FPS (first-person shooter) publisher New Blood goes as far as registering humorous (but descriptive) URLs for their games, such as devilmayquake.com and thiefwithguns.com. This is sharp pitching taken to extremes and ideal for a business card.
  32. ↑ Faulkner, Cheri (June 12, 2022). "Stealth horror-shooter 'Gloomwood' has a release date". NME . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  33. ↑ Wilson, Mike (August 4, 2022). "'Gloomwood' Bumped to September Release, 'Ultrakill' Update Moved up to August 16th". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  34. ↑ Van Allen, Eric (August 2, 2022). "Gloomwood Early Access has been delayed, and Ultrakill Act 2 is moving into its slot". Destructoid . Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  35. ↑ Shutler, Ali (August 3, 2022). "'A Clockwork Orange's Malcolm McDowell announces 'Gloomwood' delay". NME . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  36. ↑ Smith, Graham (September 6, 2022). "Gloomwood's Thief-with-guns 'em up sneaks into enters early access". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  37. 1 2 Wood, Austin (September 7, 2022). ""Thief with guns" FPS Gloomwood tops Steam after shifting launch plans to dodge Cyberpunk 2077 showcase". GamesRadar+ . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  38. 1 2 Benfell, Grace (October 12, 2022). "Gloomwood Echoes the First-Person Stealth Horror Games of the Late '90s". Paste Magazine . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  39. ↑ King, Andrew (September 13, 2022). "Gloomwood Is Unbelievably Good (And Unfinished)". TheGamer. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  40. ↑ How Gloomwood Combines Survival Horror & Immersive Sims. Noclip. January 12, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.