EDMONTON, Canada – November 22nd, 2025 — During today’s OTK Winter Expo, indie developer Lucid Rain Studios offered a glimpse into the infernal realm of INFERIUS—its forthcoming first-person psychological horror deckbuilder—with a brand new trailer showcasing the game’s mechanics and demonic visual style. Devised as a twisted take on the Major Arcana tarot cards and inspired by the hellish imagery and themes of Dante and Lovecraft, INFERIUS is the debut project for the Canadian studio, created by a team of industry veterans and fresh blood.
In INFERIUS, you’re a Pilgrim: a being lost, damned, and marked in a realm that reflects your forgotten sins. Armed with only your lantern and a growing deck of Tarot-inspired Major Arcana, you must survive the nine dominions of hell, each ruled by a grotesque entity shaped by sin and fear. Combat unfolds not through blades or bullets, but through tactical card duels, where every draw is of mortal importance, and every sacrifice has weight. Exploration and strategy mechanics are tightly interwoven, as clues found in the world inform your deck, and victories in battle shift the environment around you.
The deeper you descend, the more your sanity fractures. INFERIUS rewards persistence through its unforgiving roguelite loop: die, return, rebuild, and begin again, this time better equipped to defeat your foes. Each ruler you defeat grants you power, but also distorts your perception. Brands, Sigils, and Minor Arcana allow you to mutate your cards in unpredictable ways, pushing your strategy—and your mind—to the brink. Uncover Soul Echoes from those who came before, barter on the black market, and wield your flailing lantern to ward off the nightmares that lurk in the dark. With each run, the Inferno changes, daring you to descend once more and confront the truth buried at the heart of damnation.
- First-person Horror Deckbuilder – Collect, upgrade, and craft a custom Tarot-inspired deck. Battles are fought in turn-based, first-person card duels that blend horror with deep strategy.
- Nine Levels of Hell – Descend through 9 dominions, each representing a sin from “The Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri —every level offers unique enemies, mechanics, and visual themes.
- Lantern-driven Sanity System – Your lantern is your lifeline—it illuminates paths, solves puzzles, reveals secrets, and prevents your sanity from slipping into madness.
- Psychological Horror Enemies & Environments – Face grotesque, fear-driven creatures and surreal environments inspired by phobias like arachnophobia, claustrophobia, and paranoia—each dominion explores a different mental terror.
