An upcoming game being made by Ubisoft alumni is looking to bring the Salem witch trials to the world of gaming in a soulslike, historical adventure. Horizontal Entertainment, led by Adrian Gimate-Welsh who previously worked at Ubisoft, is using Unreal Engine 5 to craft a dark and horrific world.
Witches of the New World will bring us a new action hero, Jedediah Hopkins, trained in swordsmanship and gunplay, his journey will “confront players with complex moral questions and choices”
The Soulslike genre will never back down as long as players seek out that challenge
The short trailer and selection of screenshots on the website definitely have an eerie edge to them, perhaps leaning into the type of subtle horror we’ve seen in games like Silent Hill. Of course, Witches of the New World is based on and around the real-life Salem Witch Trials, so we’ll see a surreal mix of unknown horror taking place in a dark period of history.
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The game will be played in third-person perspective and feature “RPG elements and character progression.” Jedediah has been sent from England to investigate the trials to establish if they were the result of a mass hysteria. After conducting his investigation, Jedediah uncovers a conspiracy of devil worshipers who are trying to take over Salem. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but given we know this will be a Soulslike title, it’ll likely test the player’s skill as well as mental fortitude.
There’s always room for another Soulslike and this is shaping up to give the genre a new spin with its historical backdrop and deep story of sadness and darkness that surrounded the Salem witch trials. This is definitely one to put on your wishlist and keep an eye on. Hopefully, we get more details soon, but for now, we’ll just keep watching the brilliant trailer over and over again to desensitise ourselves to the horror.
Featured Image Credit: Horizontal EntertainmentTopics: Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Unreal Engine