2023 gave us Amnesia: The Bunker, one of the best games I’ve ever played. Fusing my love of wartime history with the creepy, supernatural horror that kickstarts my adrenaline, I’ve been looking for something in a similar vein ever since, and the newly announced Decadent might just be it.
You are John Lorn (that surname is eerily similar to my name); WWI veteran and seasoned explorer. With a fascination for the occult, you become embroiled in a research project gone wrong, in turn acquiring a vicious parasite that changes your world. This is the premise of Decadent, an upcoming horror game that very much feels like Amnesia: The Bunker’s spiritual successor.
As things go from bad to worse, Lorn’s journey leads deep into the Arctic, following the path of the Miskatonic University expedition, which you may recognise from H. P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness. In the novella, Dr. William Dyer and company discover an ancient civilization, and it feels like they may just be the obscure, skull-masked people we see in the trailer below.
There’s lots of shooting, blood, guts, and gore, as Lorn appears to interrupt some sort of bizarre ritual, prompted by a glance at the mysterious eye on the back of his hand. Decadent is marketed as a “story-driven first-person shooter,” so expect to be facing off against a whole slew of Eldritch horrors as you journey deeper into madness.
You’ll be able to transform your 1920s-inspired weaponry into powerful hexed versions of themselves, and there’s various equipment upgrades, too. But you’ll need to be aware of your own sanity, as dropping too low will lead to hallucinations and panic attacks, and you probably don’t want to be dealing with either of those when a horde of monsters is closing in for the kill.
As someone who struggles with horror games, Decadent has ensnared me. The stunning visuals and promising story make it an instant Steam wishlist, and I can’t wait to see how it looks when it launches in 2025.
Until then, we have a list of all the best story games if you, like me, love a gripping narrative. Or, if you prefer non-fantastical wartime adventures, we have a list of all the best war games.
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