Photorealistic Psychological Horror The Works of Mercy to Release June 7

Ever looked at a game’s screenshots and thought “wow that looks good,” only to realize you’re admiring the craftsmanship of a disembodied head with flayed skin? That’s how you know you’ve found a looker (or have been into the horror genre for way too long).

The Works of Mercy — a new psychological horror game inspired by Roman Polanski’s Repulsion, The Tenant, and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining — appeared on my radar recently, and it looks pretty interesting. It features photorealistic visuals and a tone inspired by classic films in the genre, as well as games like Gone Home and P.T. Here’s part of the Steam page description:

‘The Works of Mercy’ tells a story of a personal tragedy and wrecked psyche. When a cryptic tormentor forces the protagonist to kill people in order to save his family, the game’s hero (and the player) is posed with a series of dramatic questions. Who is the tormentor? Why is he so vengeful toward the protagonist’s family? How far do you have to go to satisfy him? How can you justify the killing in the sake of saving someone’s life? And how will you cope with the sense of guilt?

Heavy stuff. Based on the premise and promise of “controversial missions,” The Works of Mercy sounds like a grim — potentially gratuitous — horror tale. But I won’t shy away from that, especially if it’s in the vein of artsy-gratuitous creative works like the filmography of Lars von Trier. Here’s hoping The Works of Mercy fucks me right up. I need a good scare, real-world anxiety is boring.