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Demo for The Phantom Fellows unveiled on Steam

From the Blackwell to The Darkside Detective series, supernatural buddy cop mysteries have proven to be excellent adventure game fodder in recent years. The next title to walk that fine line between the living and the dead is The Phantom Fellows, an upcoming retro-styled adventure by indie developer Strummer Games, whose introductory demo has just been unveiled. 

The titular paranormal investigative team consists of a man named Oliver Cobblestone, who is very much still alive, and the ghost of Englebert Picklebender, who most definitely is not. The two have known each other since Oliver was young, and have become the best of friends. Among the living, only Oliver is able to see and communicate with Englebert, while among the dead, only Englebert is visible to Oliver. This partnership gives them a unique opportunity to satisfy the needs of both the spirits left behind and the "breathers" they now haunt. Over the course of eight days, players will take on a variety of cases that will require cooperative use of "Oliver's incredible ability to, um, be alive, and Englebert's capacity for the incorporeal to fulfill agreements with the respiratorily challenged." And all the while, a "dark, malicious spirit has its eye on Oliver and for a very personal reason."

Presented in a chunky pixel art style, The Phantom Fellows can be played either with a keyboard or mouse using the familiar Sierra-styled scrolling cursor interface and drop-down inventory. Each day brings a new case of increasing complexity to tackle, and from day three onward players can "travel back to any previous location and switch between the ghost and breather whenever they like." With the added freedom to roam comes "new opportunities and characters to meet as well as ... many alternate puzzle solutions." Of the various spectres you'll encounter, there are those who "yearn to be reunited with a personal possession," while others are "looking to finally take their eternal rest," and of course some pranksters who "just really enjoy a good haunting." When playing as Oliver, you'll need to beware one potential death scene per day, though from obviously dangerous situations that are clearly best avoided. (Meaning, as any adventure fan knows, you'll want to save your game manually right beforehand and try them out anyway.) 

While the full version of The Phantom Fellows isn't due out until next April on Steam, you can check out a playable work-in-progress sampler right away. The demo has no soundtrack but includes Day 1 and Day 2, the first of which is mainly an introduction while the second is comparable in scope to the chapters still to come. To follow the game's progress, be sure to check out the official website for ongoing updates.

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