Frontier Horror: Tombwater

Face bandits, ghouls, and cosmic abominations in this horror-themed action western.

Jun 04, 2025

‣ Tombwater
From: Moth Atlas, Midwest Games
Platforms: PC
Release: To be announced
Genre: Soulslike western
Steam Page • Demo Video • Developer Site

Even the most stalwart mind is not immune to the madness.

[This week’s article was produced by Trip Harrison—information scientist, hobbyist programmer, and lifelong gamer whose weekly publication explores the artistic and cultural horizons of game design. Follow him on Substack.]

You look up, and a ghostly apparition with a head of gleaming starlight meets your gaze. You are surrounded by bodies, which even the buzzards reject — they were no ordinary bandits, and this is no ordinary boneyard. The specter wants something from you. You step closer, hearing the call of destiny in the instant before your vision goes black.

This is the tantalizing morsel of Lovecraftian set-dressing that begins Tombwater, whose demo presages a sprawling adventure through the titular frontier town as the player unravels the cultic conspiracies that doomed the protagonist. The intrepid may survive, but even the most stalwart mind is not immune to the madness inflicting Tombwater.

Tombwater’s narrative begins in medias res as the player character — a nameless desperado of uncertain background — robs a train with a bandit gang. But the safe is empty, and their plans catastrophically collapse when they are attacked by a legion of uncanny pursuers. After fighting tooth-and-nail through the infested streets, the protagonist comes to rest in a nearby church graveyard, but has little time to reflect before the sudden poltergeist encounter.

Following the stirring narrative hook that ends the tutorial sequence, events skip ahead to a location said to be about halfway through the full game. The rest of the demo is spent searching for the enigmatic mining kingpin Kansas Stilton, whose hiding place in an old Spanish hillfort is the demo’s ultimate destination.

Tombwater’s moment-to-moment gameplay is skill-focused and difficult, but eminently fair. The cursed antagonists, maddened by an eldritch pestilence, are driven by animalistic urge — individuals are largely nonthreatening, but groups can easily overwhelm the heedless desperado. In service of defending oneself is a rich selection of weapons and occult spells that will be of varying use to different characters. The player selects from seven character archetypes, each with strengths and weaknesses. Some dominate in gunfights but struggle with magic. Others are squishy but may cast more spells and apply powerful alchemical preparations.

Combat is brutal and weighty, and death comes easily. Consequences for failure are low, however, so confident play is rewarded. Crucially, the protagonist’s own magical affinity can even the odds. Potioncraft and spellcasting can reduce incoming damage, hinder enemy movement, or even summon clones of the protagonist to join the fight. But interfacing with the Occult is harmful to the mind, and overusing magic causes mental breaks that make the player easy to kill.

📽 Demo Snapshot: The fights are not fair

The Old Frontier environs of Tombwater are as bleak and oppressive as the confrontational Westerns of the sixties and seventies that unmistakably inspired it. Rickety storefronts, mudbrick churches, and dusty saloons compose a grounded and recognizable environment that makes frequent intercessions by otherworldly forces all the more intriguing.

Animation and sound are straightforwardly delightful. In a busy fight, gouts of blood mingle with plumes and vortices of gunsmoke and crackling spells to create symphonies of violence. The soundtrack is characterized by desolate ambience except during important fights, when spirited guitars and wailing horns bring a chaotic energy to the melee that fits the theme to a tee.

The current state of Tombwater is, on broad analysis, sparse but deeply promising. The brevity and flexibility of the demo are enough to recommend it: a confident player with an action gameplay background will easily finish the demo in less than an hour, and there is enough style on display that just about anyone should find something to love.

Ambition in the indie sphere is always worth celebrating. Tombwater in particular is certainly worth Wishlisting for lovers of 2D action gameplay, and its demo is an easy recommendation for any open-minded gamer with an hour on their hands.