I’m always looking for fresh takes on the resonicsant stranded-in-a-cave-with-a-scary-thing-chasing-me tropes that seem endemic to all modern horror games, and Macabre aims to strike its own path in that respect. Developer Weforge Studio wants to give you all the scare space it can without holding your hand, and I’m here for that.
Macabre, which Weforge has dubbed “Australian horror from the outback,” follows four players as they traverse a semi-multidimensional knot of timelines called the Rift. You see, the asylum from American Horror Story: Asylum is not the only time travel knot that exists out there in the multiverse. The construct, which Weforge describes as having been “weaving space, time, and existence for as long as humanity has existed,” is your only hope for escape, but it also houses the monstrosity that originally impaled you. Oh, and you might be stuck with the true perpetrator along the way.
Given the themed location, this peculiar creature is surprisingly down-to-earth; Weforge describes the Rift monster as “slow, relentless, and a lot like an animal eyeing prey from the trees.” The twist, though, is that it’ll skew your perception, so when it attacks your perception slows down and your vulnerability is cemented. Constantly, fearfully waiting for the next strike that might befall you or any of the other players.
Macabre’s design front is Australian, which is what drew me to the trailer. It purposefully avoids the sunny beaches and Outback ovals that cliched national touristic ads, instead capturing a dusty, claustrophobic Australian landscape. So, while I’m sure the studio expects it to become a national franchise, the first installment will explore how what it means to be Australian has changed, while lightly touching on issues such as animal rights activism and pro-life extremism.
The face of this initial conflict is a crazed lone ranger called Banjo – a name that surprised me at first. Weforge describes him as having grown numb to the horrors he has witnessed, yet he is the only hope you have in this “very challenging situation”. Of course, he prances around in a hat that looks like a kangaroo-pouch, and I’m dubious whether he’ll be of any help. He is deliberately ambiguous, and Weforge loves that for those players who choose to interpret Banjo’s behaviour as unnerving then it serves to create well-rounded characters that really get under your skin.
Macabre is shaping up to be a refreshing experience, so I’ll definitely be jumping into the Rift when it releases later this year. If you sign up to the Weforge Studio mailing list, you can receive a 5% discount off your pre-order.