Any trailer that begins with a crow-bitten corpse is a surefire way to indicate to the goth inside me that we're in for a good, creepy time. Inkblood is dripping in that uncanny, ominous vibe I crave, as is clear by the world premiere trailer just aired during the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted. Think Papers Please, with a vibrant helping of the kind of daunting yet cozy demonic energy The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood and Strange Horticulture bring to the table.
The devs at Hey Bird! have crafted something rich in narrative and oozing with mystery in this deep, non-linear horror story. It's a tale of uncovering secrets and figuring out puzzles to solve heinous crimes from the comfort of your stagecoach. Which appears to be… alive?
In the gameplay trailer, an amber eye flickers open, encased on the knob of a slider to the left of the cabin window. The player fumbles with the attached looking glass and, peering through, it's clear this is no ordinary viewing device. It offers not magnification, but what seems to be a window into the past—an invaluable tool for anyone seeking to solve the unsolvable.
The core loop involves the scouring of strange trinkets as you piece together clues to make sense of increasingly strange mysteries. The case featured involves the disappearance of an entire band, and a world without music is something I cannot abide.
There's a folkloric aesthetic to the game with dark carnivalesque tones baked into the characters' wardrobes and overtly uncanny movements, and a painterly chiaroscuro style. Body horror is certainly going to feature in Inkblood, too, with the game's map etched into the coachman's back flesh and a self-cut hand indicating that some kind of twisted blood magic is at work.
No release date has been announced yet, but if this occult detective game awakens a curiosity within you, it can be wishlisted on Steam.
If the occult isn't your scene, check out the rest of the games announced during the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2025 Powered by Xbox Game Pass.
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