• Log In | Sign Up

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Top Games
  • Search
  • New Releases
  • Daily Deals
  • Forums
AG Stats pixel

Coven to be convened in 2021

Though the term "witch hunt" may be used primarily for political purposes these days, there was a time when such crusades were very real. We'll soon get to participate in one such literal witch hunt (albeit in a fictional story as the hunted rather than the hunter) in indie developer Haunted Lantern Games' upcoming Coven.

During an "age of darkness" in 1666, the King of England has become insane, and "his madness has deepened into an obsession with witches." Laws against witchcraft are replaced with much stricter measures, and now "accusations of devil worship require no evidence of guilt." Many of the accused are women, most of them "outcasts, widows, the poor, and the elderly." You are one such unfortunate soul, a young orphan girl with an occult power you've managed to keep hidden until now. An "unthinkable act of desperation" saves you from a sentence of death, but "your life as you knew it is over. Hunted by the King’s henchmen, your only chance of escape is to learn to embrace your gift to survive as you set off on a perilous journey across a dangerous and hostile landscape, searching for a safe refuge."

Loosely inspired by Carrie and The Witch, Coven is described as a "mature fairy tale with adult themes and dark subject matter." The game is presented in a detailed pixel art style that comprises over 100 different locations to explore, from "the heart of an ancient, witch-haunted forest" to "the barrow tombs of an ancient, prehistoric burial ground where the dead can come back to life." You may even be one of the few mortals ever to visit the elusive "Celtic Underworld." Along the way you'll meet a "sordid cast of shady characters," all of them fully voiced by professional actors. Traditional adventuring gameplay comes with "a twist based on witchcraft and European folklore," in the form of gesture-based spellcasting in which you "draw runes and sigils directly on screen with your PC's mouse."

There is no target launch date just yet, but Coven is due to arrive sometime in 2021. To follow its progress while you wait, be sure to drop by the developer's website for additional details.

continue reading below
Back to the top