Supernatural mystery Goetia gets Kickstarted

Written by Jack Allin — January 25, 2015 at 15:46

The afterlife has always been kind to adventure games, so here's hoping it is once again in the upcoming Goetia, a supernatural point-and-click mystery currently seeking funding through Kickstarter.

Goetia casts players in the ethereal shoes of Abigail, a young girl who died nearly 40 years earlier at the start of the 20th century. It's now the middle of World World II, and Abigail suddenly finds herself back at Blackwood Manor, familial home of "a perverted and mad lineage, a clan whose final members devoted their life to mysticism and fanatical experiments." Abigail knows nothing of events that have taken place since her death, and is now forced to answer the question of what led to her family's downfall.

To call Goetia a "third-person" adventure doesn't quite tell the whole story. Though the game will be traditional in many respects, tasking players with "seeking out clues, finding objects, and figuring out how to use or combine them in order to progress through the different areas, puzzles and encounters", you must also make good use of your ghostly powers. As the spectral Abigail you can "walk through walls and fly through ceilings", but a ghost can't carry an inventory, so in order to have any effect on tangible objects, you must "possess them, just like a real poltergeist would." You can "combine what you possess with another item, or simply use it, throw it, or move it around", though of course you cannot pass through walls during physical possession.

A French collaboration of designer/artist Moeity with development studio Sushee, one of the key goals for Goetia is open-world exploration, free from the contraints of the living. Players are encouraged to roam about the manor at will, along with the surrounding areas that include an abandoned village, a dark pine forest, a strange labyrinth and a cave network. Thorough adventurers will discover some special optional powers, one of which allows you "to see an object owner’s last thoughts and actions when you possess it. Sometimes this will only be some insight into the story or the protagonists. Other times, it will give you a clue, allowing you to discover an alternate (and easier) way to solve a particular enigma."  

While much of the work is already done, in order to bring this supernatural mystery fully to... err... life, the developers have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $30,000 by February 20th. A minimum $15 pledge is required to secure a download of the game for PC or Mac upon its completion, which is on target for this October. To learn more about Goetia and contribute to its fundraising campaign, visit the Kickstarter page for complete details, as well as the game's official website.