First details shine light on The Dark Rites of Arkham

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Macabre murder mystery from the creator of An English Haunting and Nightmare Frames coming in 2026

Postmodern Adventures has taken us deep into the horror movie world of 1980s Los Angeles, and to the spiritualism-crazed streets of early twentieth-century London in Nightmare Frames and An English Haunting, respectively. For their third outing, the indie Spanish developer will be sending us to yet another time and place, this time to the 1930s and a fictional Lovecraftian city in the upcoming mystery The Dark Rites of Arkham.

Following a "traumatic incident" that forced Detective Jack Foster to take a leave of absence from the Arkham Police Department, he returns to lead the investigation of "what appears to be mere political blackmail." Soon, however, he is swept up in a grisly ritual murder that "took place in a sealed room, from which no one could have gotten in or out without being seen." What's worse is that the evidence suggests the crime is "related to three witches that escaped the Salem trials in 1693." Now, more than two centuries after that fateful incident, it appears a conspiracy has formed that "could put an end to the world as we know it" if Foster and his new partner, Harvey Whitman, an "expert on cults," aren't able to put a stop to it in time. 

As with its predecessors, The Dark Rites of Arkham is a stylish point-and-click pixel art adventure – or rather "Pulp & Click" as its developer describes it, blending classic-styled adventuring "based on dialogue and inventory puzzles" with an original story "inspired by the works by H.P. Lovecraft." Although the game is not a direct adaptation, players can expect to encounter a variety of new and familiar characters, both human and otherwise, including "Herbert West, Keziah Mason, Doctor Carl Hill, and Henry Armitage." There will be more than 70 locations to explore, accompanied by a "jazzy ambient" soundtrack by An English Haunting's Matías J. Olmedo, including the Arkham Museum of the Unusual, where you can "lose yourself in its chambers, the biggest attraction of which is the artwork of the sensation of the moment: painter Richard Upton Pickman." And if you're feeling so inspired, you can even "test your knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft and horror cinema of the 30s on Maxwell Fontaine's radio show." Just remember there's a whole world-ending conspiracy to unravel in between.

No target release date has yet been announced, but we'll have to wait for a bit as The Dark Rites of Arkham isn't due to arrive on Steam for Windows PC until sometime in 2026.