Amid Evil's expansion has magical spiked gauntlets that look absolutely bananas and I can't wait to punch somebody in the face with them

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Back in 2021, New Blood Interactive said The Black Labyrinth, the prequel to its most excellent Hexen-esque fantasy FPS Amid Evil, would be out—as usual—"Soon™." Two years later, it actually is going to happen soon: New Blood announced today that the long-awaited expansion will finally go live on August 18.

The Black Labyrinth is a full "expansion pack" for Amid Evil that details the journey to, and trial of, the titular labyrinth. It's got new levels, new weapons, and "new evil," including "the keeper of the legendary Axe of the Black Labyrinth." Kick his ass, snag the axe, and claim the title of Champion!

It's not the deepest story ever told, but that's Amid Evil for you (and boomer shooters in general, really). We do know that there's a new pair of spiked gauntlets in the expansion, and a scythe that "cuts reality," which sounds pretty wild except when you consider that the game already has a magic staff that grabs random planets from throughout the cosmos, shrinks them to about the size of a basketball, and then fires them like grenades. Compared to that, slicing the fabric of reality is really kinda meh.

For the benefit of anyone who hasn't yet played Amid Evil, the new trailer might seem a little ridiculous but that's actually how the game is. It's overwhelming at times, and I mean that in a good way, but I also found when playing the original that I occasionally had to stop for a while because holy shit, it's just too much. Am I getting old? Possibly. Am I going to play The Black Labyrinth? Absolutely. Maybe I can't put it straight into my veins the way I used to, but Amid Evil is a great shooter and if there's more to be had, I want it.

Amid Evil: The Black Labyrinth is available for wishlisting now on Steam. It is not currently listed on GOG, but Amid Evil is (and is currently on sale for $6, down from $20) and GOG confirmed that the expansion is headed there too, making this a good chance to pick up the base game cheap ahead of The Black Labyrinth's release.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.