Demo emerges from Westwood Shadows

Written by Jack Allin — April 6, 2021 at 10:49

In adventure games, you just never know where a new clue might lead you. This will be particularly true for the grieving protagonist of Westwood Shadows, an upcoming first-person thriller from RedSoup Studio with a demo now available for PC. 

Players assume the role of Peter Bennet, a police detective whose life was turned upside down a few years earlier when he was forced to helplessly watch his "wife and son burn alive" in a horrific car accident. Throwing himself into work ever since to help ease the pain, or at least serve as a distraction from it, Peter's life is about to be unexpectedly upended again. While investigating the case of a missing couple, one of whom "was working at a mental asylum and ... conducting research (on) the mysterious disappearance of patients," Peter discovers something in the man's files that reveals things about his own family that he "didn't think possible." To get to the bottom of a case that has become ever-so-personal, he will once more have to "confront (his) past and face (his) fears.

Presented in free-roaming 3D, Westwood Shadows tasks players with investigating the mystery directly through the protagonist's eyes, though he'll chime in with his own thoughts as you explore the asylum and other locales. Along the way you'll need to contend with a variety of integrated "story-based puzzles" that unravel more of the narrative with each one new obstacle you overcome. 

The full release of Westwood Shadows isn't due out until sometime later this year, and even that will be dependent on its upcoming crowdfunding campaign, but you can whet your appetite right away with the playable demo available now on Steam and itch.io.