Board-game-turned-tactical-RPG Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace debuts gameplay

Asmodee Digital's video game adaptation of the hugely popular Lovecraft-inspired Arkham Horror board game series isn't too far away now - an Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC release is currently pencilled in for "Q1 2021" - and we've finally been given a first proper look at the narrative-driven tactical RPG in newly release gameplay trailer.

Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace, you might recall, was originally announced as an adaptation of Fantasy Flight Games' other Lovecraft-inspired board game series Mansions of Madness back in 2018, but it received its new name - and a new developer, Artefacts Studio - last year.

Despite the development switcheroo, it's still very much along the lines of Asmodee's original announcement, setting players loose in a spooky old mansion, circa 1926, where the murder of a professor of astronomy has occurred.

To crack the case, players will need to assemble a team of investigators, picking from 12 uniquely skilled characters from across the Arkham Horror universe, before embarking on what Asmodee calls a "squad-based narrative adventure" through a pulp American '20s, blending "exploration, investigation and tactical RPG combat phases".

"As investigators face off against Lovecraftian horrors," it explains, "they will descend deeper into the depths of madness, affecting their level of sanity and causing traumas that will impact the course of their investigation. Along with facing curious science, living nightmares and a sinister cult, players will combat an array of enemies in turn-based combat, all while attempting to retain their sanity."

There are clues to be found and characters to be interrogated as the game's nine chapter unfold, spinning a yarn that spills out of the mansion, onto the streets of Arkham - stopping off at the likes of the Miskatonic University and Arkham Asylum - before heading to the bayous of Louisiana.

You can see some of that in the new Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace gameplay trailer above, and should you be sufficiently intrigued, the full game is getting a Q1 2021 release on PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and Steam.