Narrowdeep’s free Inquisitor Shepherd demo, a Lovecraftian mystery where your verdicts decide accused heretics’ fates, is out on Steam with Japanese voice acting.
Narrowdeep’s announcement says the demo is out now, with Japanese voice acting. You can play it on the game’s Steam demo page.
Narrowdeep’s latest release says the demo is out today. An earlier announcement, dated 4 November, gave 11 November as the demo’s release date.
The story takes place in Vucrium, a country steeped in religious fervour, where you play an inquisitor sent to a remote village full of unsettling rumours. Your job is to investigate a growing case of heresy.
The cast numbers 15 unique characters, each with secrets of their own. Some will help you, others pose a direct threat, and you talk to them all to gather information. Evidence comes from searching locations, examining objects and solving puzzles. A special ability called Sin Powder heightens your senses, letting you uncover hidden information or break through a tough interrogation.
After interrogating a heretic, you deliver a final verdict: guilty or innocent. That decision determines their destiny and changes the course of the narrative. Players can also clear the name of an innocent person to reveal the true culprit. Every choice affects the ending, and there are several distinct outcomes.
Narrowdeep is a two-person Korean indie studio, built on a partnership that has worked on projects since 2016. It also runs the animation channel Olive Nara, which has about 60,000 subscribers.
Narrowdeep embodies our development philosophy. It signifies our desire to create games that delve narrowly but deeply, rather than being wide and shallow.
Narrowdeep’s members, in the company’s announcement
Narrowdeep isn’t the only studio to put a demo on Steam first. Tbreak recently covered a demo-first Steam release for the hidden-object game Follyvale.
The Steam page carries a content warning for psychological horror, extreme violence and gore, criminal acts, and flashing images that may affect people with photosensitive epilepsy.
The full game is scheduled for 2027. Until then, the demo lets you test how far a single verdict can reach.
