Wadjet Eye Games and Cloak and Dagger Games have confirmed The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow will release on Nintendo Switch later this month.
In this folk horror narrative-driven adventure, playing as antiquarian Thomasina Bateman you will have the chance to explore the isolated moors of rural Victorian England in an effort to uncover the mysteries of Hob’s Barrow.
Documenting the treasures she uncovers for the book that she is writing, an intriguing letter summons her to Belway – a small village tucked away in the remote countryside. Setting off by train and leaving her assistant a day behind her, she arrives to discover the mysterious man who contacted her is nowhere to be found and her assistant never turns up.
After a stubborn landowner refuses to let her access the barrow and the locals are wary of her as she is travelling alone, the excavation is off to a rocky start and then Thomasina starts to have strange dreams…
The publisher has outlined the game’s key features as below:
- A dark, complex and evolving storyline featuring interwoven elements from real English folklore.
- Traditional point-and-click adventure game puzzles and interactions, with an easy modern interface.
- A cast of intriguing characters, from suspicious villagers to sickly vicars to lordly landowners, all with their own unique stories and motives.
- A distinct folk horror tone and grounding.
- Evocative pixel-art graphics, featuring cut-scenes and engaging animations.
- A suitably atmospheric original soundtrack from The Machine. The Demon. – one half of the duo behind the award-winning “Football Game” soundtrack.
- Fiends in the furrows, the smell of damp soil, and a cat or two.
The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow will release digitally on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch worldwide on 25th January 2023.
