Witchmarsh is an unusual RPG in many ways, but most of all is its setting: 1920s Massachusetts. The swamps and marshlands of the jazz-age are your stomping grounds in this supernatural mystery.
The basic concept of Witchmarsh is that you control a team of detectives who head out into the “darkest corners of rural America” to investigate the vanishing of 12 townsfolk and the mystery surrounding their disappearances. There are over 10 playable detectives, each of which have their own investigate techniques, abilities, combat styles, and personalities – they’ll clash regularly if you put incompatible ones together in your party, while others may fall in love.
You’re able to customize each of the template characters as they level up to specialize in certain areas. However, the game does have a character creation sandbox that offers over 50 unlockable abilities across five spellbooks. “Mix and match attributes, perks, items and weapons to create a unique team of adventurers,” the developers say.
What makes this character flexibility even better is that Witchmarsh will have online co-op for two to four people. It’s being published by Chucklefish too, the studio behind Starbound, so the online co-op side of the game is bound to be a big part of it.
The main play cycle of the game involves picking up clues by exploring environments, hunting down the locations that these clues lead you to, and then usually getting into a scrap. Combat is designed to be responsive and action-based, so you’ll be able to dodge and roll as you attack, and use a range off weapons including guns, bows and arrows, shovels, and magic. Enemies will often attack in hordes and have tricks up their sleeves to surprise you, and for the dedicated combatants there will be optional pathways with extra bosses to find.
Witchmarsh was successfully Kickstarted last year. The plan is to bring it out by the end of 2015 or possibly at the start of 2016. You can follow its development on its website.
