Demo soars ahead of The Silver Crow

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Full version of Renaissance-era point-and-click mystery coming in July to Steam

It’s been over a decade since we last heard from Uwe Sittig of Dreamagination, creator of the point-and-click freeware adventure Dirty Split. Clearly the solo German developer hasn’t been idle since then, however, but rather busy working on the studio’s upcoming first commercial game, The Silver Crow. 

In a 1582 German town, Conrad bears the responsibility of carrying out the death sentence when the law demands it, a brutal task whose victims haunt his dreams and make him “an outcast outside of society.” The dishonor of Conrad's executioner position is mitigated somewhat by the fact that he’s also a gifted healer, and it’s his knowledge of human anatomy that is needed when the famous artist Theobald Breitsam is found dead, covered in wounds that “should not be possible” and “surrounded by occult symbols and hundreds of black feathers.” Conrad is asked by the city council to investigate for signs of witchcraft, with a suspect already accused. But something is not right, and Conrad believes there is a greater force at play, and “the deeper he looks, the less human this case becomes.” To uncover the truth, players must follow “a trail of contradictions and carefully hidden secrets” that will lead to uncomfortable answers.

As with the developer’s first game, The Silver Crow is a traditional point-and-click adventure. Everything is handled through a single-click interface, with a hidden inventory at the top of the screen to store and combine acquired items for use in solving puzzles, along with a notebook that is automatically filled in as you progress. There are more than 50 locations to explore, filled with over 30 different characters who may treat Conrad either helpfully or with disdain. Unlike Dirty Split, this game utilizes a detailed pixel art style, with characters fully hand-drawn, while backgrounds have been “created using a combination of AI image generation and extensive manual post-processing,” with each scene “ individually refined, composited and hand-animated to achieve a consistent artistic vision.” The setting promises to be “steeped in Renaissance atmosphere, occult shadows and moral ambiguity,” as you gradually uncover new layers of a mystery “blending historical themes with supernatural elements.”

Those looking to pick up the executioner’s blade for themselves won’t have to wait much longer, as The Silver Crow is set to release on July 30th. In the meantime, there’s always Dirty Split to try out on itch.io, along with a playable demo for this game that is available now on Steam for Windows PC and will take you through the opening prologue.