Gloomwood

eh, looks rly rly cool, og xbox era graphics, but the gameplay is so painfully slow that it hurt my soul

Excellent game. It's like Dishonored and Resident Evil combined.

so its not really like any other new blood game so if you are expecting a shooter its not for you, but if you are expecting a immersive sim then it is

Well I've beaten the early access and I got to say I had fun. Stealth games usually aren't my thing but it was fun to out smart the enemy's and I really enjoyed the aesthetic. I did run into a glitch that made it so I could't draw my weapons and had to restart from the beginning but other than that its a good game. I'm looking forward to more.

Honestly - very good. can be a struggle if you arent careful enough but overall i love it so far

Amazing indie immersive sim. Level design is crazy good, can't wait for the next update.

I just finished my first real playthrough of Gloomwood. Schew! The game is the same vein as Thief and Dishonored - you sneak around an area, silently take down enemies, and find keys and flip switches to open passages. I focused on stealth, but you can do a combat style if you wish (I did end up doing more combat in The Hive area). The level design is good and there are multiple ways to get places. I always curious to see what's next. This is an easy game to recommend, especially if you already like New Blood games.

Play this game, absolute masterpiece of ambiance, and environmental story telling. Simple mechanics that have more depth only limited by your own creativity. If you're wondering if you should try this game. The answer is yes, play this game.

There's like 1/5th of the game in here and it's still one of the best things I've ever played. Best immersive sim since Prey 2017

If you love stealth games like dishonered and especially the old thief series then gloomwood is the best game on the market for you right now!

The game has a beautiful mix of environments which each need to be treated differently and have many different ways to traverse them to reach your objective. Despite it being early access there is already a lot of content here while playing i was worried the game would simply be my charachter moving from A to B but around 5~6 hrs in i reached what i assume the game will use as hub area for the game and the vision of what New blood is trying to build here is very clear and has me very excited.

My only real frustration with the game was the limited inventory space early on. while exploring towards the first hub area you are given a lot of fun tools to experiment with and valuable unique items which you will be wanting to sell but it takes just a bit too long for you to reach the place to sell them which might have you a little frustrated if you are a horder like me. they do solve this later by giving you the possibility of an inventory upgrade but to me that comes a little too late especially when some tools feel less optional really limiting your space.

This might seem like a very small and personal complaint and that's because it is! there really is nothing else to complain about in the current version of the game and if you are even slightly considering buying the game i would highly recommend you simply take the plunge and get dragged into the dark and intriguing world of Gloomwood

Absolutely amazing immersion and artistic ability shown throughout. The way every single bit of this game is designed just feels so finely-tuned to what it's trying to achieve, and I love it. One of the greatest examples of an atmospheric game there is right now. Only a small portion of the game is actually finished as of writing this, but even still I got a good 8 hours out of it. Super excited to see where this game and its eerie, mysterious world goes next.

4/5 (Very Good)

This game is fantastic, i recommend going into it blind. The game mechanics such as stealth, weapons and puzzles are well made. The story is great the game always leaves a clue for a mystery. The exploration is rewarding and searching every corner of the map leads to many results. The notes left around leave so much intrigue to explore more. The sound design is phenomenal, hearing though doors and getting information from waiting on what to do is great. This game rewards patience for enemy patterns and walk patterns. The only con i have is the mantling mechanic, it fells bad and is inconsistent on when its activated, and overall very annoying to use in one section of the game.

This game isn't complete yet and it's still one of my favorite stealth games of all time. I eagerly play each patch as I wait for the full release. Play on the hardest difficulty if you want to force yourself to be stealthy and inevitably lose 2 hours of progress because you didn't want to consume the save item.

Yes, there are some bugs and glitches, but that is to be expected for an early access game.
Overall 9/10 game.

It's not even close to finished, but what is there is absolutely gold in terms of gameplay. The levels are reminiscent of Thief's golden age and Dishonored's iterations on the genre, and like those games the levels are more complex than initial appearances would have you believe.

New Blood's done okay so far in publishing for early access games, but you never know what might happen. If you're willing to take gambles on unfinished titles, you could probably do a lot worse than Gloomwood, but buyer beware it's been cooking for a few years now with no end in sight. As someone with no dev experience but twenty years of playing PC games, I'm going to hazard a guess that Gloomwood will be in 1.0 by 2028, this information came to me in a dream.

Came into this a little while after The Hive update. Played up to a point where you have a central hub/store to branch out from, but the game is SO good im just gonna wait for the whole thing to be finished so I dont get sad when im barred from playing more.

Absolutely brilliant non-linear stealth game

This was fun, I enjoyed the game a lot. Stealth isn't exactly necessary in the game, but it is a good choice if you want to hear extra information from NPC's, or to sneak around an area and get an item that will grant you the upper hand in combat. The AI isn't something marvelous to look at, enemies have a determined roaming path, and will break that if they hear a noise or see you and engage you in combat. You are however not invincible, and will die in a couple of hits or shots from enemies even in normal difficulty, putting some tension on your choices. It's a dark game, even with high brightness, and using your lantern is going to become a habit. You will slowly discover bits and pieces from the story and put it all together as you play, but the gameplay changes ever so slightly with the introduction of new weapons, items, enemies and locations. In some areas, stealth works fine, in others, you have to be carry ammunition and expect some heavy fights ( not going to spoil of course, just a tip. ) This game reminds me a bit of the game Nightmare of Decay, without the stealth element. Similarly there is some spooky story and some hidden secret that has been discovered by the inhabitants and starts seeping into their lives, like a curse or a disease.

I'd recommend it, but watch the trailers first to get an idea of what to expect. I saw some people state that the Early Access of the game is something that troubles them, seeing it as a possibility to not have a frequently updated game, and I agree, I've played a number of Early Access games to know that some developers just stop working on the game and abandon it, nonetheless, it's a good game for almost 20 Euros.

This masterpiece is a game where you collect different types of cheese through beautifully designed environments and try to keep them safe from unknown enemies. The gameplay is smooth, with plenty of exploration and a lot of different strategies you can follow to play the way you like.

However, there’s one slight drawback: there just isn’t enough cheese, i paid 8 dollars for this game but yet i cant seem to find enough cheese! While the game revolves around collecting it, there are too many stretches where cheese is scarce, leaving you craving more!

Despite this, the charm and creativity of the game make it a memorable experience, i wouldn't go so far to say its THE BEST cheese collecting game i have played. Skyrim The Elder Cheese still has that crown but this definitely comes second. It’s a solid 9/10 but could use more cheese types, more space to store the cheese and MORE CHEESE!

Current amount of cheese i have in my safe: 14

Great game, basically what you'd get if you took art inspiration from the old Thief: The Metal Age game and then gave it survival-action-horror elements.

Still in early access though but what they give you so far is already pretty good. I cannot wait to see the full game come out in the future.

Level design - Meaningfully Interconnected. Puzzles of medium difficulty that make you feel smart. Secrets are fun and helpful to find.


Game play - Rewarding. It allows you to tackle a problem however you want (guns blazing, ninja-like or other). Every single enemy (other than one in the end game) feels tremendously well-balanced.


Story/atmosphere - The game is unfinished as of this review. This means the story is also unfinished. That being said, what we do have is intriguing, grim and fun. The story is not too in your face, but when you choose to seek it out via notes you find, you will want to know more. The atmosphere, like the other parts of the game, was crafted with lots of care. It is spooky, dark and mysterious.


Sound design - Incredibly immersive, especially for an indie game. Helps add a feeling of depth and realism to the world around you. The spooky ambient noises help reinforce the atmosphere.


I would recommend the game in its current state, but I will say I understand if you want to wait till it's finished (just remember to come back). With every update, new item and new level, the game has only gotten better.


9/10

Edit - (You can beat the whole game without killing anything/anyone)

this game is unplayable there was a missing texture i hat the developers take the game down now!!!!

I rarely make reviews. As my profile will show.

However, Gloomwood hits a certain spot of retro horror/thriller shooters, with modern features.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☑ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☑ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☑ 10

This game is freakin' awesome! I HIGHLY recommend this game, even as someone who doesn't really play this type of game often.

Ill check again after it is fully released but at this moment I can't recommend. The beginning of the game is fun, but as you progress a series of baffling design choices lead to nothing but frustration and the breaking of all immersion.

Sadly the dev seems to disagree so I don't see any changes being made to address these issues coming in the future.

I played a lot of Thief: The Dark Project as a young lad. This is the only game I've seen that comes close to recapturing that style of gameplay

Wow, this one's incredible. The level design is so tight and dense and packed with interesting paths and shortcuts. The mood and atmosphere are great. I can't wait for the rest of the game. You'll need to set up a custom controller map but other than that it runs really well on steamdeck.

Refreshingly well made imm-sim stealth game, nice theme and good use of light/sound in the gameplay like the classic thief experience.

not my game.

played for two hours and always had this feeling of "I'm sure we're getting somewhere now" and "is this still the tutorial area?" and finally "wait... is this really all the game is???"... not a good thing for a game to evoke.

I simply could not believe that there is nothing more than the worst parts of a resident evil game, including shitty "sad" piano music at the "save location". all the clunk, the mid level design, the awful awful combat, but even worse here.

what it does well is the one and only thing this game is: you wait for someone to stand still, sneak up behind them and knife them. in a dreary crappy looking brown on brown dystopia that lets every boomer obsessed with death and decay probably climax instantly, but I'm not that kind of guy.

I simply assumed this would go to places like an "Abiotic Factor" (the much much much better game with tons of depth and way more to do) or a more dungeon crawl experience with heavy stealth focus cause the enemies are super tough or something like it... all kinds of weapons, equipment, crafting, tactical gameplay... I know that's on me to just assume that.

but the game is basically empty. like completely empty. there's the same barrel, the same glass bottle and the same box over and over and over and nothing has any purpose. no loot, just some gold you find here or there on a table.

if you are really sure you enjoy a barren, empty world in feces color where all you can do is crouch 99% of the time and glacially backstab the same bad guy 500 times, then this is a well done game.

if you expect *anything* more than that, stay away, buy something else.

This isn't incompetently done. the quips between the bad guys and the things they say is amusing and well written. but it's almost nothing overall. the stealth works. this isn't a bad game, but more like a really bad idea for a game.

devs: buy the game "the surge 2" and check out their level design. they used some off the shelf tool to do that and it has the best level design of any game I had played in and before 2019 (and I have played since the 80s). use that tool. the surge 2 is very mid, but it excels so much in that one aspect that I remember it fondly.

don't use Japanese console games as a blueprint: they all suck because of their technical limitations. you may have been extremely successful financially with this game here, but the boomers lusting for seeing people suffer like they had every generation after them suffer, they're dying out. make something that can stand the test of time. not some nostalgia bait.

Abiotic Factor can do a 100 times bigger world with no loading screens and better graphics. the game's so slow you don't need to ensure 300 fps at all times.

I love the game but Fucking FIX THE BUG WHERE YOU CANT FIND THE CRANK THE GOLDIN CRANK

this game is perfect for you stealth game lovers and there can be some halarious moments when traversing

This Review is written with the Full Moon difficulty in mind. I like to pressure myself to improvise and deal with resource shortages as I deal with tougher and denser enemy groups.

I actually really struggled to get into Thief. They were always games I absolutely delighted in watching others play. Fascinating systems and world, but not quite my cup of tea.

Gloomwood takes that concept and runs with it. And I can't get enough of it to the point where a death means I get to replay a section of a level. (You can enable quick saves, I'm just a survival horror fan, I treasure my safe rooms to the point I decorate them w/ trophies and resources organized to my heart's content.)

This is a game where I DELIGHT in how the systems at play enable things to go wrong in dramatically different fashions each time I approach it. There are encounters where can never actually tell which sides of infighting will win when I throw a glass bottle between them. One time an enemy got too close to me with a leaping attack intended for someone else that I shotgun blasted them on instinct, pulling THREE NEW ENEMIES INTO THE MELEE that the glass bottle never aggro'd.

The voice acting has charm. Enemies. Shopkeep. The Countess. I never get enough of them.

The weapons and arsenal of tools at your disposal are a delight. (Please pick up and throw things. You will be surprised by how many resources you can save by throwing enemy weapons back at them to initiate new fights.)

The stealth systems are so much better than they used to be to the point that I genuinely think we're at the level of eclipsing thief. I will admit some bias here, I prefer Gloomwood's guns to Thief's bows and arrows. Being able to flick my revolver open to check the ammo or whip out a second revolver to skip the reload never gets old. And all of the silenced Undertaker's bolt types you can chamber constantly put me off guard when I can remember I can just shoot out any light that is causing me trouble.

How much this game commits to diagetic in-the-world interactions replacing menus wherever possible is another constant delight! I don't want to spoil too much here, but there was a particularly rough encounter for me where I didn't have the inventory to brute force the encounter... So I started setting my ground, laying out spare ammo/food in places I expect to catch a small breather, all so I could make room for the gear I expected to equip right before starting the encounter. Reversing a horror section into a scenario where I've already laid the groundwork, traps, and supplies where I expect to need them made for a very memorable triumph. (Before I learned 2 ways to absolutely trivialize the encounter. But hey! Learning the system and trying new things to reward having game knowledge is a good thing!) I can always improvise this encounter in future playthroughs if I want.

Negatives/Bugs.

I'm pretty sure I've hurt myself with sharp physics objects twice. One of which caused a death. Either that, or an enemy followed me a looooooong way before throwing a knife at me from behind.

You're going to have some weird deaths w/ terrain. The mantle doesn't always activate when I want it to. And at least one of those locations is high enough to hurt you.

But I'd frankly accept the occasional rough edge or interaction for the level of commitment to just how much you can do to manipulate the environment in this game.

Awesome game, loved playing it and its still not even finished havent had a game suck me into the world like that in a long time

A fantastic game for those who love the Arkane games, Arx Fatalis, and Might and Magic dark messiah.

Very very excited for what is to come.
Haven't played since a couple of updates ago, but not through a lack of wanting to play.

The game is hands down gorgeous. The retro styled graphics are beautiful and bring back memories of nostalgic simplicity.
Where some newer games are burdened with over detail, this game shows that deceptively simple shading, environmental story telling, and lighting is all it takes to bring an aura of intrigue and immersion.

PROS

The immersive Sim genre always seems to be lacking titles, but the games that come to the table are almost always incredible. This game is no exception. With interactive lighting, sound, and physical objects you can manipulate individuals and the world around you.
Like lots Immersive Sims this game leans into stealth gameplay. It follows controls that are similar to the original Thief games, with: Crawling, walking, and running. With the what material you're standing on affecting the sound level that the enemies will react to.

The Horror.
There is without a doubt an air of horror to this game. But that doesn't necessarily mean its scary. The world gives off "lovecraftian' vibes. Rotting fish and dank wood surround you in the early parts of the game, and it certainly sets the tone of an oppressive and uncaring world.

Doesn't Immersive Sim just mean 'good game?'
Yes :) The game really sucks you into the world of Gloomwood. All of the information that you need is realized in the game itself. To my recollection, the only 'menus' are the hard pause menu "ESC" and the main menu. This, by itself, does a lot of heavy lifting for immersing yourself into the world.
Ammo count? Flick open your revolver and count.
Am I Visible? First thing your given is a mystical ring that glows with your visibility.
Where can I put all my items? My favorite detail. You, as a doctor, carry a briefcase where you place any and all items you need. Or unnecessarily want.

CONS

Like all Early Access games comes the downside of it not being finished. I am more than happy in supporting the developers with their product. I only see this as a downside for this game because I just want more! My greed and lust for more Gloomwood is neigh insatiable. Hence why I haven't played for many updates.
The game follows a line of events. There are certainly many ways to get to point A to point B, and many interactions in between, but you can only experience this kind of game truly once.
I'm going to wait until the game is mostly finished, or just requiring tweaks to the mechanics as not to spoil the whole experience for me.

Keep up the wonderful work devs! I know this is going to be a landmark of the genre and will be a modern classic!

TL:DR

Amazing game that is full of personality. But I want to wait till its more complete to have a "fuller" experience,
As of now 9/10 and I'm sure will hit 10 once its out in full.

I really like the atmosphere. I sort of get hints of Bioshock Infinite? The only thing I don't like is story related. It's sort of feels like I just wander around until something happens. The world itself should make you want to explore it, not make it a necessity because the objectives (implied or specified) are so vague.

Its good if you play it like Dishonored and not like Thief. Just mcmurrderspank everything on the map in flashy silly ways.

awsome,dark humour , clear influence of the thief genre. no not the garbage of thief reloaded, but thief gold,dark project and metal age ,while also being its own universe

I am so addicted to this game i actually have a suggestion. So since the cane sword is a 'cane' what if when your limping and the cane is holstered you can use it as a way to move faster. So when its out and you are fighting you walk and move slower. Also probably my newest favorite single player game -Cola gremlin

As a huge fan of the multiple genres this game pulls inspiration from and somehow seamlessly mashes together, this is a pretty amazing experience (so far, this is still early access and this review is based on the content available all the way up to "The Hive").

If you couldn't already gather this from the promotional material, this game is the "Immersive Sim" love child of Thief and Resident Evil with a little sprinkle of boomer shooter DNA all set in a Lovecraftian, Victorian era town. That means the core gameplay loop relies on your ability to be stealthy and manage ammo/healing resources.

Now the pros:
- The level design is masterclass, providing the player with seemingly endless ways to either stealth past or take out enemies.
- Enemy placement is very well done, creating challenging but fun situations.
- Quite a bit of enemy variety SO FAR (I do hope there will be a few more enemy types and bosses later on though)
- The tools at the player's disposal are all extremely useful, unlike a lot of other im sims you will probably end up making use of every weapon and tool you come across and add to your arsenal.
- Has some of the best stealth mechanics in the entire game industry since Metal Gear Solid V.
- Probably has some of the most creative systems to provide the player with information without ANY IN GAME UI.

As for cons, this game so far has very few, but they are enough of a bother to address:
- The biggest one having to do with the Undertaker pistol, unless I am mistaken it's the only item in the game that you have to do SERIOUS backtracking for, and it's annoying due to the fact that this weapon will probably be one of the most important and most used tools in your arsenal, and it is completely and easily missable since it's so far off the beaten path compared to everything else, and even if you do run across the safe it's in, if you don't have the document with the code for the safe sorry pal you're going to have to come back all the way to the beginning of the game later. I really think the document pointing towards the location of this weapon with the code should be in the starting area of the game.
- The light ring and enemy detection. Early on the light/dark mechanics work damn near perfectly, but some of the later areas (mainly the Market District and the inside of certain buildings) you will be hiding in a completely pitch black corner and the light ring (a ring on your finger that is used to showcase light in lieu of a light meter) will be lit up like a damn Christmas tree and enemies will still either get wary or spot you outright. Not sure if this is just something that needs to be tweaked in the newer areas or a bigger issue, but this can be extremely frustrating on the harder difficulties where death means you lost 2 hours worth of progress.
- Progression. This may be more of a personal skill issue or me missing a document with crucial information but sometimes it can be hard to figure out how to progress, I only had two major points in the game where this was an issue (Getting the ring in the Market District and where to go after the Power Station)

Overall, this game is amazing and I cannot wait for it to be fully finished. Thankfully the game has quite a bit of length to it now but from what I understand there is still a lot more of the game that has yet to be added. BUT the content updates are at a VERY slow, near drip feed, pace. So while I do highly recommend this game beware that it may be a long while before we have a full game in our hands.

Constant stutters on lowest settings, the severed head disappearing any time the game loads and unclear meandering levels with inconsistent enemy behavior make Gloomwood a borderline unplayable slog from frustration alone, despite a solid base

this is top thief successor with that great blurry 00 shadowing refined carefully great congruent setting and leveldesign in current state also sufficient playtime

Одни из лучших проектов который new blood издавали. 620 рублей того стоили

This is genuinely one of the greatest games I have ever played. The way that Gloomwood guides you along the way is fascinating in its own right, but the world, story, and overall style of this game are something special. Gloomwood's inventory system and the lack of HUD on screen during gameplay provides an outstanding level of immersion that is rare to find these days. Each time I make more progress, I am blown away that this game is still in "Early Access". I cannot wait to see what else these devs have in store.

I like it, it has a dark atmosphere, but it doesn't feel like a horror game, you have the power to fight, and there's nothing to fear, strike your enemies with whatever you have on hand, be it through stealthy means, or guns blazing

I've put more time into what is essentially the prologue & first chapter of a game than most other completed games.
Such simple mechanics placed in a fantastic sandbox; the level design of this game is one of the best due to how well game elements work off each other. It's a blend of survival horror atmosphere & mechanics, but with the level design and reactive environments that are home in immersive sims. There are also secrets behind waterfalls, so this is automatically a good game.

No spoilers, but the Tavern level is a goated experience

I am totally the target audience for this type of game. Thief and Thief 2 are easily in my top 5 games of all time. Bought them both on release, This game evokes the same kids of feelings.

That being said, despite the eerily similar aesthetic, and sneaking, the games are very different. Guns for example - combat is more common in Gloomwood - I dont mind this, because ammunition is scarce, and sounds are loud, but you have the _choice_ to combat should you choose. The very RE inventory management is brilliantly done - time doesnt stop and you must have enough light to see inside your case - this makes topping up health much more strategic.

My only major gripe - it isnt finished yet. This may bother you more than I - I am enjoying being along for the ride, but your patience may vary - this game is not yet finished. But if you can deal with a tremendous unfinished product in the meantime - then you should buy this.

An amazing stealthy survival horror experience. Would recommend it to those who really wanna go back to Thief, but want even more freedom. Fantastique, 10/10.

Fantastic game. I cant wait for it to be completed!

This is a great stealth-horror game if you're looking for something new to try. I've loved the level designs with how fun they are to explore, and the sound design is fantastic in helping you figure out where enemies are and generally how loud your footsteps are. I also enjoy that according to what difficulty you choose (New moon, half moon, full moon, and blood moon) it does change the ambiance of outside areas, adding to the experience of skulking around and stabbing everyone. If you've enjoyed other stealth sim games like Dishonored then I'd really suggest giving Gloomwood a shot.

I also learned as well you can lock doors by pressing R, so go ahead and lock your enemies in a basement somewhere, too.

one of the most fun games i've played in some time, can't wait for the full game to be ready!

Oustanding thus far, played the newest update and it really was nerve wracking and spooky. I look forward to the next update.