Godhood lets you build your own religion, complete with human sacrifice

Abbey Games quietly makes very clever, playful strategy outings, like unconventional god sim Reus and tactical exploration game Renowned Explorers, and now it's back on religion, showing off the first footage of Godhood. It puts you in the divine shoes of a newborn deity who has to nurture their tribe of believers while taking on other gods.

It seems to be taking a different direction from Reus, which was more about using your powers to transform the environment, shaping the world for their human followers. While you can’t control them directly, Godhood tasks you with manipulating your followers through religion. As their god, you can tell them what’s important—what vices they should avoid and virtues they should try to emulate—as well as getting them to worship cats or carry out some human sacrifice.

You’re not the only god, however, and you’ll have to compete with others by pitting your poor humans against their tribe of adversaries in ritual combat. These rituals are called ‘Sacraments’ and it looks like they’re turn-based tactical fights, a bit like Renowned Explorers. Humans have free will, though, so maybe they won't all be interested in dying in your holy war. Smart.

Godhood is due out next year.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.