‘Death in Candlewood’ is an Open World Horror Game From Former Silent Hill and Witcher Developers
Death In Candlewood is a new open world horror game that was given a Kickstarter today from the Barcelona headquarters of indie studio, Rosebud Games. While horror games are nothing new, especially from indie studios like the recent Outlast, many studios do not set their horror games in an open-world environment or in the 1940’s United States such as Death in Candlewood.
Death in Candlewood is the brain child of Rosebud Games. Founded in 2011 by Toni Sanchez and Jingjing Fan, they are an independent developer made up of talent from projects such as Silent Hill: Origins, F.E.A.R. Extraction Point and The Witcher. The 11 person studio has been working on Death in Candlewood since 2011. But now the game has received an official Kickstarter to help them push for the last mile.
Described as a open world psychological FPS set in a ghoulish 1940s America, the open world horror game is inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe as well as classic horror films. The premise of Death in Candlewood is a love story between the living in the dead. Playing as Ray Dune, you are a doctor who failed to save the life of Elizabeth, the wife of your mentor, Lester Caravan. Caravan has become obsessed with finding a way to bring his dead wife back to life and in the process has taken Ray’s adopted son, Rizzo. The game will span only one night in the life of Ray Dune, while he hunts the remote and dark Candlewood Mountains and the gothic town for his son while dealing with a “terrifying onslaught” of inhuman assailants.
The Candlewood area itself is a respectable size at 6 square kilometers covering both developed land and natural forrest. While it does not boast the size of GTA V‘s 100 square miles, one does not need hundreds of miles to tell a good story. Other elements such as upgradeable ammo, health and other equipment are standard fare for most games as well as line-of-sight and noise sensor mechanics. While details are still sketchy, the game also boats of “role playing customization, stealth elements and third person POV for driving a range of vehicles.”
Death in Candlewood has been in development for a long time, but only in the spare moments the studio had. Taking on other jobs to cover all the development expenses has gotten them this far, and they are looking to Kickstarter to fund the last stretch of $60k they need to make the game a reality.
Horror games are a time honored genre in the video game industry. From the original Alone in the Dark to the ground breaking Silent Hill and Resident Evil the search for thrills, scares and palpable tension has been one of the most effective mechanics when done correctly. While the outgoing generation of consoles had some gems such as Condemned and Dead Space, the horror genre saw a move toward action and the indie scene has taken up the flag with games like Gone Home and Dear Esther after games like Silent Hill have long since left the flag behind.
Oddly enough, Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 are probably the most notable horror games that have an open-world style format, though you still have a linear path which the player must travel in order to progress. Death in Candlewood doesn’t have the foggy streets with monsters lurking just out of sight, but there is enough new in this game to give us a reason to look forward to what Rosebud Games can do. They have the pedigree behind them to do good work. You can see the full Kickstarter video below or go to the official page of Death in Candlewood.
