The Occultist: The Dark World Behind The Veil

Spanish indie studio DALOAR, formerly known as Pentakill Studios, together with renowned publisher Daedalic Entertainment (Shadow Tactics and its DLCs – 2016 to 2021, Barotrauma – 2023, Reveil – 2024, and many more), will bring us next year a psychological horror and survival thriller packed with paranormal events that happen around us but that we usually can’t see. Its protagonist, Alan Rebels, “The Occultist” who gives the game its name, will use his versatile “Mystic Pendulum” to channel his power and perceive beyond the veil of this reality. Can you imagine it? …Keep reading.

The Occultist promises a next-gen experience that could easily compete with any AAA title. With finely crafted visuals, top-tier effects, and realistic animations, this game had already earned over 30 awards and nominations even during its development, including the prestigious Devcom Blockbuster Award 2023, and various recognitions at festivals like TIGA, Gamepolis, and Valencia Indie Summit. All in all, even if this is DALOAR/Pentakill’s first commercial title, you better be sure, my dear gamer, we’re not talking about rookies here, but about a highly qualified team ready to deliver a top-tier adventure! And right below, you can watch the Announcement Trailer, straight from PlayStation’s official YouTube channel:

Afraid Of What I Can’t See… Great!… Thanks ¬¬

The Occultist presents us with the vision and interaction with an invisible and in most cases also intangible world that is always around us, but that we can’t see with the naked eye. Playing as the occultist Alan Rebels, we use our super handy mystic pendulum to channel our power and thus influence that invisible plane, not only seeing it, but also being able to protect ourselves from it, or change it. The first-person perspective, combined with some of the game’s unique mechanics, mostly tied to Alan’s powers and the pendulum, achieve a high level of immersion, which many of us love in this kind of game, and some of us even fear a bit XD

As we’ve already mentioned, in this story we play paranormal investigator Alan Rebels, who must travel to the mysterious island of GodStone to determine the cause of his father’s sudden disappearance. As we might guess, we don’t have much information about the place at first, so we have to be ready for anything unexpected, and that’s why we’re bringing along our trusty mystic pendulum, an object of unknown origin that has accompanied Alan through all his past investigations.

Once on the island, it doesn’t take long before we uncover part of the backstory that explains the heavy atmosphere we’ve felt since arriving. GodStone was home until 1950 to a grim and infamous cult that conducted all kinds of disturbing experiments and cruel rituals. Since then, no one has set foot on the island, except for a few locals, including Alan’s father, who was born and raised there during his early years. Now it’s our turn, as Alan, to interact with the sinister souls still lingering in the island’s eerie streets and buildings to uncover the truth, or avoid them at all costs if necessary.

Luckily, our protagonist doesn’t seem too shaken in these types of situations. Due to his work as a paranormal investigator, he’s used to things that are completely out of the ordinary. However, the search for answers behind his father’s disappearance and everything it uncovers will put his skills and composure to the test. This island and the case around it break everything Alan thought was possible about the occult world, and of course it’s up to us to get to the bottom of it, as long as we don’t run off screaming the first time we look through the pendulum…

So…

The Occultist, originally planned for this year, will arrive sometime in 2026, and will be available for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam. While we still don’t have a release date or even a release window, it’d be smart of you to head to your favorite platform’s games store and add it to your Wishlist without delay. And once you’ve done your homework, come back here and let us know what you think about this innovative project that promises a unique experience. You know gamer, we’ll be reading you! 😉

Images Source: PlayStation Official YouTube Channel, The Occultist on Steam