Despondent

Despondent follows Sedgewick, an agent of the Department of Supernatural Intelligence (D.S.I.), a government body that manages the supernatural and paranormal to protect the balance. When the D.S.I. withdraws resources from an investigation into a mass disappearance, Sedgewick goes alone to uncover what is happening inside ground zero.

Explore Hargrave

Once beautiful and docile, Hargrave has become a hellish prison for the people who disappeared. You explore its various locales, from a derelict farmstead to a factory, seeking answers about the missing and a way to escape.

Manage the sickness

Sedgewick contracts a deadly sickness that you must manage with medication throughout the journey. Without temporary treatment, its symptoms slow you down and make it harder to outrun or fight your pursuers. The symptoms worsen as you progress, making survival increasingly difficult without medication.

Run or fight

Sedgewick’s D.S.I. training helps him deal with supernatural and paranormal threats, and you can use a selection of weapons to defend yourself. Some enemies are invulnerable to your weapons, so you need to run from them.

Creatures and the compendium

Many creatures roam the darkness, including different kinds of spirits and sea-dwelling cryptids. Sed’s compendium updates whenever you see a new creature, helping you learn which ones pose a deadly threat. You may also encounter life-forms nobody has seen before.

Visual style

Despondent takes inspiration from games of the late 2000s and early 2010s. It combines detailed environments and characters with 2D sprites used for foliage, clutter and food, alongside heavy film grain, bright colours and a sharp image.