Morbid: The Seven Acolytes is a "horror-punk" action RPG that's in development at Finland-based studio Still Running and is being published by Merge Games. The game is a new take on the isometric Souls-like genre that has you playing as the last surviving Striver of Dibrom. Your task is to defeat the Seven Acolytes, who are under the control of the malevolent Gahars, before they claim the land of Mornia. A perk system, called Blessings of Magratheus, let's you customize your build to your preference and the game includes both melee and ranged weapons. There is a gameplay preview for Morbid that explains all this, with commentary from the game's Composer, Sound Designer, and Writer, Simo Talasranta, but I think it shows a bit too much so watch at your own discretion.
Personally, the thing that really caught my eye about Morbid is its atmosphere. The combination of a dark and muted color pallet, Lovecraftian creature designs, and ominous background score all add nicely to its overall tone. While other games may shy away from their Souls-inspired look, Morbid wears its influences on its sleeve. Just like in any Souls game, both conceptually and in execution, the bosses look brutal and original. One boss that was shown in the preview, Lady Tristana, uses her own placenta as a weapon. And as a fan of lore within games, the small hint of backstory that was mentioned during Lorn the Blind's fight was enticing to me. The main reason why I suggest staying away from the gameplay though is that I think the fun of these sorts of games comes from entering a room and seeing the bosses for the first time and there are three boss fights shown in the five minute preview, including some even getting killed.
Apart from the seven core bosses, there are others that you come across as you explore the world, and defeating them is how you get additional rarer loot. There are also NPCs (as shown in the screenshot above) throughout the world that can be talked to for more worldbuilding and possibly for questlines, though more information on dialogue will come at a later date. Morbid also has a blue-colored Sanity Meter (also seen in the screenshot above) along with the usual red Health and green Stamina bars. There wasn't too much more that was said about the meter, other than the fact that a character's deteriorating mental health will have side effects.
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes will release later this year on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. There is no exact release date yet, but Merge Games did reveal the special editions for Morbid which come bundled with goodies. Only available on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, the full Signature Edition, pictured below, comes in the Signature Edition Box that includes the complete physical game, a concept art card, two blessings pins, and the full soundtrack on CD. The game will also receive a regular retail release on the PS4 and Switch, and if you're a PC player, you can add the game to your Steam watchlist now.
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