Getting burned at the stake is just the start in this grimdark, witchy FPS

I’m a sucker for a nice main menu gag, especially one where you transition right into a cutscene with no loading (looking at you, Spec Ops: the Line). The demo for the upcoming retro FPS, Coven (opens in new tab), kills it here by having the main menu overlaid on a scene of a crowd of medieval peasants staring at you. Starting a new game sees a priest come forward and light your pyre aflame, condemning you to a gruesome death. The first level then begins with you digging out of your own grave to get revenge.

Coven (first spotted by Alpha Beta Gamer (opens in new tab)) definitely had me feeling a little queasy at times with its overpoweringly grim content, but the low-fi throwback graphics (strongly reminiscent of New Blood’s Dusk) helped maintain some welcome psychic distance there, and its fast paced FPS combat is too fun to stay scared for long.