Occult Narrative Solitaire Game Occlude now on Steam

The title of this article probably made you go “huh?” because Solitaire isn’t exactly something you’d think of being a recent release. However, the cosmic horror narrative card game from Tributary Games caught my eye during the last Steam Next Fest.

Now, Occlude is available on Steam, blending esoteric mysticism and cosmic horror with a card game we all know relatively well. When I saw Occlude I immediately got Inscryption vibes, but this is a little bit of a different idea. Here is what the press release says about Occlude:

“Developed by Tributary Games (King of the Castle)[,] Occlude leans heavily into the occult and mysticism, presenting a narrative card game that intentionally obscures its rule-set. The game presents seven Rituals, each governed by its own Entity, and each asking for a different form of logic.

Embracing feedback from Steam Next Fest [demo/s], Tributary Games have also added a Story Mode for launch, allowing those who might be more into the Lynchian narrative than the brain-contorting puzzles to jump into a more instantly accessible version of the game.

Occlude is a game stuffed with secrets, and a cerebral, mind-bending narrative that is a puzzle in itself. Players are challenged to piece together the story for themselves from archival documents and scattered hints. This extends to a free ARG that has been running alongside the development of the game. Seven Cards, Seven Rituals is an investigative ARG allowing players to learn more about the world of the game via an evolving, lore-heavy alternate reality experience.”

Tributary Games’ Lead Samuel Partridge commented on the release, stating: “We wanted the rules of the game itself to be part of the discovery. Occlude takes what you think you know about Solitaire, and then blows things wide open from there. The puzzles and the narrative go hand-in-hand, so as you learn one[,] you also learn the other. We’re incredibly proud of where this journey leads – the last Ritual in particular – and can’t wait to see how players grapple with it.”

I love games that take familiar ideas and turn them on their heads. Balatro took Poker and did something different, and it seems that Occlude is mixing the game of Solitaire with something that balances between cosmic horror and mystic esoteric beliefs in a similar fashion to Cultist Simulator or Book of Hours. This is definitely something to look into if you’re wanting to play something a little different.