First view of Marshland Hollow revealed

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Short "gentle gothic" isometric adventure from the creator of Justin Wack coming to PC on Steam

For his ambitious debut adventure, Pontus Wittenmark of Warm Kitten delivered us a classic-styled, time-hopping adventure with multiple playable characters in Justin Wack and the Big Time Hack. The next game from the indie Swedish developer will feature several protagonists as well, though just about everything else promises to be different in the upcoming Marshland Hollow.

Strange things are going on in the vast island chain known as the Marshlands. Perhaps no more so than on the estate belonging to one Mr. Eckhart, whose manor "holds many secrets, as do its inhabitants," including Penny the maid and Hugo the groundskeeper. Concerned about a "change" he perceives happening to his island, Mr. Eckhart writes to a mysterious cloaked figure named Wolfram (Wolf), an author who has "written many books on Marshland folklore and traditions." He is also knowledgeable about mysticism and possesses some "vague supernatural powers of perception, resulting in intuitions when he visits places." Wolf will need to put all of his skills to use if he's to figure out who to trust, what "lurks in the attic, and what really happened" on the night that started this sinister turn of events. 

Where its predecessor was a very traditional hand-drawn comedic adventure, the equally beautiful scenes of Marshland Hollow are viewed from an isometric angle, with humour exchanged for a vibe Wittenmark describes as "gentle gothic spookiness." The island can feel cozy in the bright light of day, but as the dynamic graphics and music change to reflect the passing of time, the Marshlands can "feel like a very different place after nightfall." We'll get to experience both through the eyes of several different characters, as the playable protagonist changes from chapter to chapter. Whomever you control, your exploration of the areas in and around the Eckhart estate will be peppered with "fast, short, and fluent dialogue and action choices that gently steer how the story unfolds." This focus on narrative and atmosphere over challenging puzzles means it shouldn't take too long to complete the game, with an expected play time of around two hours, which the developer compares to being like "walking around in a Hammer horror film."

It's too early for a firm release date just yet, but if all goes well we should see Marshland Hollow arrive on Steam for Windows PC sometime within the next twelve months, with GOG and mobile ports to follow. In the meantime, a demo is planned for October to help tide us over while we wait.