Spooky stealth 'em up Gloomwood adds bustling market district in latest update
Definitely not another murder arena
Thief-but-with-guns game Gloomwood continues its early access crawl with today’s update, adding a delightful market district to the game. You can get your hair cut, buy a new outfit or two, and generally have a nice time. There definitely won’t be any murder or dangerous reasons to skulk through the shadows. And that dog? He doesn't bite, honest. Take a look at the bustling shopping centre below.
Okay, only some of that's actually true. The eerie stealth ‘em up’s newest update does add a market district, and there is a merchant’s shop where you can buy and sell certain goods. And you can technically meet the barbers, although I wouldn’t trust them with a skin fade. According to developers, they “want to take a little of the top” and I prefer a full fringe. I was kidding about the dog, though. That creature in the dark is probably a werewolf and it will bite.
Along with the deadly new area, the latest update also adds new extra features. There’s now a toggle for Source-style shadows on objects that makes some interiors look even spookier. The devs have also added a new intro menu scene since the plan is to have “Half-Life-style chapter menus that change as you progress throughout the game.” Gloomwood previously added a tavern area late last year, but that was also dodgy as hell.
“As we continue to expand upon the world of Gloomwood,” the devs wrote in a Steam blog post, “we will add more details to the existing areas, more buildings to explore, more loot to pilfer, more enemies to face, but for now - please enjoy the fruits of our labor.” They also tease that the Underport is up next, with something “waiting for you down there…”
Alice Bee checked out the immersive sim’s early access build when it launched and thought it was “very good” despite feeling cheated by its brevity. “It's a grubby delight of a game full of as many nail-biting clutch moments as masterful plans you can set up and execute,” she wrote. “You can distract a guard by throwing a severed arm through a window just as easily as chucking a bottle into the corner,” she continued, “which is a wonderful thing to know about a game. But right now the fun stops just as you feel you're properly ready to get going.”
Gloomwood’s early access version is usually £16/$20/€17 on Steam, but there's currently a 25% discount thanks to the Steam Stealth Fest.