Over the years of my career writing about video games, I’ve developed a habit of going into games blind, which more often than not results in some manner of surprise during a playthrough. So, when I stumbled across The Dark Rites of Arkham, I did just that, and it turned into one hell of a ride.

The Dark Rites of Arkham is a gritty point-and-click detective story by Postmodern Adventures. The developer should be well-known to any fan of the genre, as they have a pretty impressive recent history of gorgeous point-and-click games. If you haven’t heard of them, then this is your sign to check them out.

Their latest is set in the city of Arkham, MA, presumably in the 1930s, judging by the general art deco style. What starts off as a simple case of political scandal quickly morphs into the kind of chaos that can only be inspired by cults and killers, and this is my experience with the demo. 

Fair warning: This article includes a lot of spoilers for the demo, so if you want to go in blind like I did, you should probably stop reading now. 

Well, that escalated quickly

When I say that I try to go into games blind, I truly mean that, which means I avoid reading descriptions on Steam or whatever platform the game is hosted on. When it comes to The Dark Rites of Arkham, even reading the first paragraph of the “About this game” section would have been enough to clue me in on what was to come, but I didn’t do that, so I had no idea what I was getting into. 

In The Dark Rites of Arkham, you play the role of Detective Jack Foster, sent to investigate a case of political blackmail. The demo starts with you at an apartment building with an untrusting and uncooperative super, leaving you to gain access to the room that you need to investigate. It’s a pretty straightforward point-and-click, combining items that you find to solve puzzles and get to where you need to be. 

That normal and enjoyable beginning is quickly overtaken by something much darker when Jack smells decomposition in the room next door and, upon gaining entry, finds a man with no head in a ritual circle with the doors and windows blocked from the inside. 

See what I mean about this escalating quickly?

Leave ‘em wanting more

You don’t get to see much past this point in the demo, sadly, but that’s what makes it a good demo. It introduces the themes that you’re going to encounter during the full game, leaving you with far more questions than answers, and excited to see what comes next. 

According to the Steam page, the story beyond this point only gets weirder. Jack teams up with an expert on cults, Harvey Whitman, and uncovers a connection to three witches who escaped from the Salem Witch Trials in 1693, and a conspiracy that will change everything. As someone who is hugely interested in those very trials and the history of New England… I’m hooked. 

Also according to the Steam page, the full game will include two things that immediately grab my attention: The Arkham Museum of the Unusual, which is teased to contain not only a bunch of oddities, but also a collection of art by Richard Upton Pickman. 

If you’re a fan of Lovecraft, that name will jump out at you. Pickman is a fictional artist dreamed up by the granddaddy of horror himself, and canonically renowned for his graphic and horrifying paintings. According to Lovecraftian lore, Pickman’s ancestor was hanged during the Salem Witch Trials, so it’s easy to see where he falls in the plot of The Dark Rites of Arkham.

The Dark Rites of Arkham is, at its heart, a love letter to Lovecraft, and it’s set to be an absolute joyride of references and canon. It’s due for full release at some point in 2026, but you can play the demo discussed above by downloading it through Steam right now.