Set in “a new world that was never meant to be found”, Pilgrim: The Haunted Frontier is a folk horror miniature skirmish game where players work together, controlling pilgrims fending off terrifying monsters in the woods. With the game’s first scenario out now for free and a Gamefound crowdfunder on the way, we spoke to the designer (and Buer Games cofounder) Eric Michael Robinson to find out more.
“I only want to make games with worlds I really want to dive deep into,” Robinson says. Buer’s other titles – Carnivore, set in the desperate cataclysm of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, and 1490 Doom, set in a medieval apocalypse – go hard on aesthetics, and Pilgrim is no exception. It’s also, like the others, not a cheery game.
“There’s something compelling about a group of people leaving home to cross an ocean to start a new life in a new land,” says Robinson. “The game’s goal is to immerse the player in a really fun experience exploring an unknown land filled with terrifying horrors. There’s mystery, discovery, side plots, and really spooky minis. I love playing cooperative games and this felt like a great setting for solo or co-op play.”
Instead of HP, the key stats for surviving the dangers of Pilgrim is Faith. The demo scenario sees players contending with shades on the seashore, who can drain a pilgrim’s faith just by getting close. Lose it all, and there’s a ticking clock before that character is lost to madness. And since there are only seven named pilgrims in the game, all with unique abilities, that’s probably not a good thing.
“The faith mechanic is very prominent as the Pilgrims go deeper into the woods and experience more horrors,” says the creator. “They use Faith to reroll failed rolls but Pilgrims must be careful not to use it all, or they become susceptible to drifting into the woods and being claimed.”
While the game’s Wendigo (who appears on the front cover) reminds us of the beast from The Ritual, Robinson gives a surprising source when asked for media that inspired the game: Over the Garden Wall. “That show is perfect in my opinion. That idea of the unknown very much influenced the mystery of Pilgrim’s world.”
Eric says Pilgrim shares some similarities with Joseph McCollough’s Rangers of Shadow Deep, another co-op skirmish game where you venture into the dark with a band of cohorts, but says the two have very different mechanics.
With immersion-setting music and evocative art and minis, the Pilgrim looks set to be a truly spooky game. We don’t yet have a release date or Gamefound launch, though Buer Games has a preview event planned for October 28.
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Source: Wargamer
