Gloomwood’s Ever-Evolving World Now Includes Cutscenes
A few games captivate me in development like Gloomwood, the immersive sim from New Blood Interactive that takes inspiration from Thief. Not only is it one of my most anticipated games, but the developers continually add unexpected and delightful features. The latest example? Gloomwood is getting cutscenes, a surprise addition that showcases the studio’s creativity and dedication.
Dillon Rogers, Gloomwood’s creator, recently revealed the news on Twitter with palpable excitement: “I said we had a bigger thing to show this week. Gloomwood is getting short form cinematics before major areas/encounters, done in an early 1900s animated horror style.” A teaser video accompanied the announcement, featuring a cutscene that introduces the fishdog enemy encountered a few hours into the game.
The cutscene embodies what Gloomwood is all about. It pays homage to the classic briefing cutscenes from Thief, particularly the first two games, while still maintaining Gloomwood’s distinct Victorian gothic style. It’s a respectful nod to its inspirations without being bound by them—something that defines Gloomwood as a whole.
However, the addition of cutscenes took some players by surprise. Unlike Thief, Gloomwood doesn’t divide its gameplay into missions. It’s a continuous and open-ended experience, so the idea of cutscenes has some players concerned about interruptions to the seamless exploration. Others worried that such cinematics might spoil the game’s well-crafted surprises.
Rogers addressed these concerns directly. For those worried about spoilers, he explained that future cutscenes will be more subtle, perhaps only showing “the shadow/shape of the upcoming beasts or how they sound” instead of revealing full details. As for players seeking a purely immersive experience, Rogers reassured them that Gloomwood will likely have the option to skip cutscenes altogether.
The cutscenes are just the latest in a series of intriguing updates to Gloomwood. Earlier this year, New Blood added new AI behaviors that let the game’s rats actively seek out cheese—a delightfully quirky feature. In March, the developers provided an update on the game’s expansive underreport area and introduced a harpoon gun. June saw the release of the first part of this underreport area, dubbed the Power Station, which is already larger than the Market District released in 2022.
There’s still no clear date for Gloomwood’s final release, and given the complexity of immersive sims, it may be a while. But with New Blood’s consistent innovation and dedication to crafting a memorable game, I’m happy to wait. It seems likely that we’ll see plenty more exciting updates from Gloomwood as 2024 unfolds.
