The Occultist Hands-On Preview – Haunting Mystery and Questions
Daedalic Entertainment and developer DALOAR are preparing to launch The Occultist, a first-person horror game set for release in 2026 on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The game puts players in the role of paranormal investigator Alan Rebels, who travels to the cursed island of Godstone to uncover the truth behind his father’s mysterious disappearance.
At PAX West, I had the opportunity to go hands-on with a demo, and while the atmosphere and concept intrigued me, my experience left me with mixed impressions about how the final game might take shape.
First-Person Fear
From the start, The Occultist commits to full immersion. You explore Godstone through protagonist’s eyes, Alan Rebels, creeping through dimly lit environments where every sound and shadow feels like a potential threat. The demo leaned into a slow, deliberate pace, heightening tension by making me second-guess every step forward. It effectively creates vulnerability, much like Alan Wake or Amnesia, though it hasn’t yet shown how that tension might evolve across the broader game.
The Pendulum System
One of the central mechanics of The Occultist is Alan’s mystical pendulum, which reportedly features five distinct abilities to uncover hidden objects, solve puzzles, and interact with the world. In my demo, I only got a glimpse of one of these mechanics: revealing hidden items or clues in the environment. It worked well enough, almost like peering into a hidden layer of reality, and it fit the occult theme nicely.
That said, the pendulum’s role felt limited in this slice. I didn’t see much beyond revealing objects needed to progress, leaving me unsure how varied or deep this mechanic will become in the full game. With the pendulum being pitched as a defining feature, I’m hoping future showcases will highlight more of its promised potential.
Survival Without Combat
Another interesting angle is that The Occultist doesn’t lean on combat. Instead, it blends stealth, puzzles, and environmental interaction. While the demo didn’t showcase much of the stealth or puzzle variety yet, the promise of needing to hide and sneak past threats adds to the survival-horror feel. The lack of direct combat helps reinforce the sense of helplessness but also risks limiting player agency if the mechanics don’t expand meaningfully.
An Intriguing Start, Uncertain Future
Walking away from the PAX West demo, I felt torn. The Occultist has all the right pieces on paper: a moody setting, a supernatural toolset, and an occult mystery tied to cults and disappearances. The presentation and atmosphere worked, and the pendulum mechanic hints at something unique.
But the small slice I played didn’t convince me that these ideas will carry through a full experience. The pendulum felt underutilized, the pacing sometimes bordered on familiar, and the demo didn’t highlight puzzles or stealth in a way that made them stand out.
For now, I’d call The Occultist intriguing but unproven. Daedalic and DALOAR clearly have ambition here, and if they can build on the foundations shown at PAX West, this could turn into a tense and memorable horror experience. But from what I played, I’m cautiously waiting to see more before I’m fully sold.
The Occultist has no release date outside of sometime in 2026, so DALOAR has a lot of time to left to further polish the game before it’s released on the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
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