The way to solve an adventure game puzzle is, any glib git will tell you, to give a bit of a think, try a few ideas, then tell everyone everything and use every item you’ve stolen together in random combinations until you get it. A little more thought might be sensible in Daedelic’s new adventure game, announced by the Whispered World and Deponia devs at E3. The Devil’s Men (which actually stars two ladies) can have multiple solutions to puzzles, see, and supposedly they might each alter the direction of its spooky steampunk story a little.

Someone’s going around steampunk Victorian England murdering The Devil’s Men, a group of scientists who dabbled in the occult, and it’s up to a lady and a tramp to solve this. There’s steampunk and murder and a seaside resort and a commune of “waifs and strays” and adventure game stuff but that branching story bit is why I’m interested in The Devil’s Men.

Daedalic don’t have too much to say about it, but do offer that “It’s up to you if you get lost in the mystery or if you find the one answer everyone is searching for.” Hopefully it’ll result in more than tipping the scales of fate to kill some people and save others; that’s so passé, darling.

“I still maintain that Daedalic has it within them to make a properly great adventure,” our John said after finishing the dire Goodbye Deponia. Who knows, perhaps this’ll be it? Kevin Mentz, who wrote Memoria and the first part of the Deponia trilogy (but not that John-enraging third), is on the script.

Daedalic expect to finish The Devil’s Men for spring of next year. All we’ve got to see of it right now is one screenshot, so here’s the full thing: