Drool: Eldritch Is Thief Meets Lovecraft Meets Roguelike

Eldritch just got announced by former BioShock 2/Borderlands developers David and Kyle Pittman, but it's already rocketed to the top of my list of Exciting Doodads That I Will (Lovingly) Obliterate With My Excitement Lasers. The headline does not lie. The roguelike-like counts games like Thief and Dishonored among its closest inspirations, bringing them together in a clammy, tentacle-slathered Lovecraftian embrace. In short, you can fight, sure, but you can also stealth past enemies, upgrade otherworldly powers, and climb around the environment to discover alternate paths through the harrowing infini-dungeon. Oh Eldritch, let me count the ways. Wait, I already did. You should probably just watch the (refreshingly silly) trailer, then.

Yeah, I can get behind that - mainly so it's no longer able to sneak up behind me and slurp out my immortal soul through a silly straw. Here are the things you'll be doing in Eldritch: Dishonor Of The Rogue Thief (subtitle tentative and also entirely fake):

• Unearth ancient secrets and find your way to freedom!
• Sneak, fight, and explore strange worlds!
• Invoke mystical powers to augment your play style!
• Randomly generated levels provide fresh challenges and opportunities!
• Unlock shortcuts to jump directly to deeper dungeons!

The Pittmans are also keen to boast "non-linear levels and open-ended play styles," which they say emerged from their love of Looking Glass games like Thief.

Potential jankiness of combat aside, it all looks positively marvelous, if you ask me. Eldritch is coming out on October 21st, and a preorder will get you into a beta that kicks off at the end of September. Also, it's currently sneaking and stabbing its way through Steam Greenlight's treacherous dungeons, if you feel like lending a helping thumb. John's going to have some impressions of the game up later today. How's everyone else feeling about it?