10 years ago, Yuppie Psycho studio Baroque Decay shelved its horror RPG Catechesis because, in its words, "it became an impossible undertaking." Now, with two acclaimed indie games under its belt, the studio is reviving Catechesis and says it's "committed to completing what we started a decade ago."
Catechesis is a horror RPG where you play as an altar boy possessed by demons, and thanks to that whole situation, every good deed he does opens up a gateway to hell. For that reason, he commits to venturing into dungeons to battle demons at night when he's done with work and school in the daytime, all while trying to save his grandfather's life without letting the world succumb to the will of evil forces.
To be frank, I'm not entirely sure myself what's going on in the story, but at the very least, Catechesis has some really lovely pixel art - particularly in the anime-inspired cutscenes - and music going for it. I'm also a sucker for a good day/night cycle, especially when it dramatically switches up the gameplay. As touched on before, during the day you'll live a virtuous life going to school, working, and meeting all sorts of characters, and at night you'll go dungeon-crawling and engage in what Baroque Decay calls "slow-paced battles with primary ranged and secondary melee weapons," along with "twin stick aiming" and "roll evasion."
There's also a stealth element to Catechesis, and although it's unclear how that fits into the narrative or how it works mechanically, the studio does say it'll involve light and sound detection. When you aren't hiding from whatever creatures haunt the dungeon interiors, you'll be able to "illuminate every corner with a flashlight or candles to uncover valuable resources, hidden paths, and ancient religious lore."
There's a lot we don't yet know about Catechesis, although the studio has yet to release anything to make us doubt it. In a press release, the devs cite inspirations ranging from Silent Hill and Persona to Deadly Premonition, which should all make for an intriguing blend. The game's currently in the works for PC, Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox.
Just one more intriguing game to add to the list of upcoming indie games.
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