Goetia is a dark, Victorian point & click adventure where you're placed in to the spectral form of Lady Abigail Blackwood, a young member of the once proud family that inhabited the majestic Blackwood Manor, now nothing more than an abandoned ruin.
It released a couple of days ago, and given how stunning the artwork and overall presentation are, I figured I would bring Goetia to your attention, starting with the trailer:
The story takes place in the once quiet countryside of Oakmarsh, a remote rural area that suffered heavily from air raids in World War 2 and which now stands completely devoid of any life, with only the ruined and abandoned houses to remind travelers that there used to be a thriving community here. It is in this environment that Lady Abigail Blackwood is uplifted from the grave, though the questions of how and why remain to be discovered, most likely in the ruins of her family's ancestral home, a cold and metallic manor that once housed all sorts of eccentrics, but now lies eerily silent, even amidst the ruins that surround it.
To discover what exactly happened to all of the villagers, the manor, and eventually yourself, you will need to puzzle your way across more than 90 different rooms in 5 unique areas with the main gimmick being the fact that you're a ghost, and as such capable of some rather unusual things. For example, you can pass through walls and discover hidden rooms and passages, posses objects like a poltergeist in order to make them float in the air, pile them up, and somehow use that to your benefit when it comes to solving problems.
This place would be creepy even in its hayday
There is one thing you need to know about Goetia, however, and that is the fact that it doesn't pull punches when it comes to puzzles. You will be presented with some difficult challenges, challenges that might be next to impossible to figure out without searching the far corners of the game world, or resorting to a walkthrough. In other words, if you do decide to grab Goetia, make sure you are prepared to face off against some brain-bending problems with solutions that might not always be plain and obvious.
On the positive side, if the Steam reviews can be trusted anyway, the excellent visual presentation, voice acting and writing you may have noticed in the trailer remain consistently compelling throughout the entirety of Goetia, so even if you get stuck on certain parts you'll have plenty of Victorian atmosphere to soak in. It might sound like a silly thing to focus on, as graphics don't make a game good after all, but I am fan of games that put a lot of effort in to their presentation as that is the one element of 'gameplay' you will constantly be interacting with, whether you're consciously aware of it or not, so its a good thing indeed that Goetia is so memorable.
Simple shadows, or perhaps something more?
If you would like to personally give Goetia a try, rather than simply read me blabber about it, you can demo the first hour of gameplay by heading to the official website. The demo is available in English and French, for both PC and Mac.
And if you find yourself longing for more, you can grab the Windows version of Goetia on Steam for €15/$15, with the Mac version most likely coming later this week, free of charge.
The lights are on, but nobody is home...