With a new trailer, the developers behind Decadent (Steam, PS5) reveal their biggest influences: H. P. Lovecraft and Resident Evil 4.
What kind of game is it? Decadent (not to be confused with Decadence) is a first-person horror shooter developed by Incantation Games. The game is set to release in 2025 for PC on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
In Decadent, we step into the shoes of John Lorn, a researcher, World War I veteran, and occultist. But we are not the only ones inhabiting his body; there’s also a sinister parasite making itself known as a glowing eye on his hand.
In a trailer with the promising name “Madness,” the developers provide a first glimpse into the game. Also featured is a merchant that players may recognize from Resident Evil 4.
You can watch this trailer here:
What does the trailer show? After a brief shootout and subsequent escape, we wake up in a bleak, dark forest. Shortly thereafter, we are greeted by a cloaked merchant with a distinctive accent who tries to sell us some weapons – which strongly resembles the merchant from Resident Evil 4.
The similarities are unmistakable
Under the video on YouTube, viewers also agree that they recognized the merchant from Resident Evil 4. They immediately began quoting the quirky merchant from Resident Evil 4 and (even as a joke) making a connection between the two.
- somebody1692 immediately thought of a specific line from the merchant: “What’re ya buyin’?” [roughly: “What are you buying?”]
- louiemontinola9688 is sure: “RE 4 merchant was confirmed as an interdimensional being.”
- SchemingSkelly merges the two characters and writes: “I am just a simple merchant… STRANGER.”
Just like in Resident Evil 4, we find ourselves in Decadent in a dark, eerie forest, repeatedly encountering madmen and monsters. We could just as easily apply the “mad” part to ourselves.
Our character regularly suffers from hallucinations. What appears to be a wild beast at this moment may later turn out to be an innocent camper. Visually, Decadent is heavily inspired by H. P. Lovecraft’s cosmic horror, including strange tentacled creatures.
Cosmic horror, as the name suggests, is very well suited for horror games. However, one game has attempted to transfer this setting into another genre, namely that of building games. And at least according to players on Steam, the experiment has turned out quite well – read more about it here: New building game on Steam resembles Anno but revolves around Cthulhu cult, has 90 percent positive rating, offers free demo
