Gloomwood
Developer(s)
  • Dillon Rogers
  • David Szymanski
Publisher(s)New Blood Interactive
EngineUnity[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.

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]

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.
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