Image via Talking Drums
Atmospheric indie horror game Trench Tales has managed to annihilate its Kickstarter goal with terrifying efficiency. Like a mustard gas cloud, it continues to bloom and grow as more fans pledge their support to the cause and eagerly await the day they’ll be deployed to its dark battlefront.
After launching the Kickstarter on May 7, 2024, the initial goal of $60,247/£47,286 flew by, and now developer Talking Drums is pushing for even more funding to hit the final two stretch goals.
At the time of writing, the project has almost doubled the initial funding requirement. If enough fans show up to back it, every stretch goal will have been unlocked. Fans have already hit the marks for a Crow Companion, more weapon classes, and body part dismemberment. A new location and an extended campaign are the goals that remain.
Trench Tales beckons you into its twisted, war-torn realm and uses real war to horrify you
Trench Tales is a horror third-person shooter set in a dark world inspired by World War I & II. Players take on the role of a lone soldier summoned to the realm of Verden Kingdom, a twisted location filled with gothic architecture, miles of trenches, and mysteries to unravel.
The story of Trench Tales is told through notes and the environment as players progress through the realm and learn more about its past. there are main and side quests to complete to help flesh out the lore, revealing why the world is in such a sorry state and what has befallen its people in the past.
Players will get to use meaty, realistic weapons as they explore the dilapidated world and fight the darkness plaguing the realm and threatening to topple the monarch’s hold over it. While the source of this darkness isn’t explained, it has something to do with the memories of a war that occurred here, dredging souls up from their unmarked graves to fight as undead soldiers against a lone wanderer looking for an escape.
To help players navigate the system of trenches and bullet-ridden locations, powers can be earned and used to help decimate enemies. These range from a shocking burst of energy that blasts back foes to a prayer to St. Mother of Heavy Artillery that calls in an airstrike on a target.
While the foes players fight are supernatural, undead pulled up to fight when they’d much rather rest where they drowned in 2 inches of mud, it’s the horrors of war that make this game look so scary.
The trenches are claustrophobic, dirty, and slowly filling with water as the relentless rain batters everything exposed to it. Turning a corner might be a mistake as enemies lurk everywhere, and heading over the top is like entering a nightmare as every soldier in range suddenly turns to see the player rushing for new cover and opens fire on them.
What Trench Tales doesn’t do is take liberties with war history. It would be too easy to glorify weapons and make a hero’s story that glorifies one side or the other. Instead, the reality of war is presented front and center, and it’s the most sobering and scary environment, but one players will be staring at for hours. Supernatural enemies only make the game appear more horrific, but it still feels like it doesn’t quite live up to what soldiers must have witnessed in the two World Wars our civilization has lived through.
Before you go, if you’re looking for something a little more uplifting to read, then check out Amanda’s article on why it feels like everyone is starting a silent book club. If you’d like to help Bonus-Action work towards its goal of going ad-free, then consider signing up to our Patreon, even as a free member, and following us wherever you can.
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