Become a ghost in Goetia, a dark Victorian adventure through madness and mystery

Goetia

Goetia is a 2D “Victorian mystery” adventure in which you play as the ghost of a young girl named Abigail, who's haunting the abandoned English village of Oakmarsh. It's been awhile since we last heard about it, but I strongly agree with Mr. Sykes' assessment of the premise as intriguing, and so I'm quite happy to see that it's now out on Steam. I like the launch trailer, too.

Abigail's full name is Abigail Blackwood: “The name of a manor and the family that lived within. A perverted and mad lineage, a clan whose final members devoted their life to mysticism and fanatical experiments,” the Steam description explains. Abigail's rise from the grave comes 41 years after her death, and while she has no idea what's befallen the village in which she lived or the fate of her family, “Obviously somebody is keen on seeing me lift the veil on what happened in Oakmarsh—to what led to the downfall of Blackwood Manor.”

Goetia will have 115 rooms to explore, according to the trailer (Steam puts it at “over 90”) spread across five “vast and diverse areas,” including ruins, woods, caves, and the village itself. There are puzzles to solve and secrets to discover, and as a ghost, you can walk through walls and explore the world however you see fit. Also exciting, at least for me, is the promise of a “progressive rock” soundtrack. A spooky ghost story backed by the musical stylings of ELP? Count me in!

The PC version of Goetia is available on Steam for $10/£15, and because it supports Steamplay, buying it on the PC will also net you the Mac version, expected to be out within a week, at no extra charge. If you want to get a taste of what it's all about before taking the plunge, a free demo covering the first hour of the game is available at playgoetia.com.

Andy Chalk

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.