Starhelm Studios shares gameplay reveal for retro-style immersive sim Project Shadowglass

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During the Future Games Show Spring Showcase, Starhelm Studios showed off gameplay footage for their new game, Project Shadowglass. It’s planned for release on PC (via Steam) and is currently aiming for an Early Access launch in 2027.

Project Shadowglass is an immersive sim game with a retro look, using 3D pixel art to create intentionally nostalgic graphics. It’s designed as a tribute to classic stealth and first-person action games like Thief, Deus Ex, and System Shock.

I just checked out the new gameplay trailer, screenshots, and details – Starhelm Studios dropped everything on their site. You can find it all there if you want to take a look!

Project Shadowglass is a modern game inspired by classic stealth titles like Thief, Deus Ex, and System Shock. It features a distinctive visual style created with unique 3D pixel art.

You’re a thief down on their luck, and a secret benefactor has given you a dangerous job: stealing ancient artifacts from all over the land. You’ll have to use your intelligence and skills to complete these incredibly difficult robberies.

During the day, you’ll operate from your small apartment in the poorer part of town. Use the money you earn to buy better tools and equipment, improve your secret workshop, gather information, and scout out your next target.

Okay, so here’s the deal: when the sun goes down, you gotta be sneaky. I’m not a fighter, not at all. I’m totally on my own, feeling pretty helpless, and seriously outgunned. What’s cool – and kinda creepy – is that everyone feels real. They have names, they remember things. One wrong move, and I’m either running for my life, hiding for ages, or getting into a brutal fight that everyone will talk about afterward. It’s intense!

Gameplay

  • Navigate using light and sound: hide in the darkness, study patrol routes, and choose quiet surfaces over loud ones
  • Manipulate the environment: douse torches, create distractions, use surroundings to your advantage
  • Infiltrate secure areas: pick locks, pickpocket keys, and climb to forbidden places to gain the upper hand
  • Deal with threats: knock out guards, hide bodies and evidence, or risk deadly blade-to-blade combat
  • Complete the heist: gain access, steal treasures, and escape

Features

  • Multiple approaches and solutions with a sandbox design philosophy
  • Unique rendering technology creates nostalgic pixel art in full 3D space
  • A reputation that follows you. Get caught and security heightens based on severity
  • Become known as a murderer and citizens flee on sight
  • Acquire your own research before a heist. YOU choose when to act, where, and how
  • Get apprehended alive, and you’ll need to break yourself out of jail

The Story

A wealthy but stifling kingdom by the sea is ruled by a new king who rewards the nobles while the common people struggle. The city is becoming increasingly fortified, with walls and towers built to isolate and control the less fortunate. However, the rulers didn’t anticipate your arrival.

Progression

Success comes from effort, not innate ability. You aren’t a chosen one with special powers – you’ll need to improve your strategy and skills to overcome challenges. Knowledge is your greatest asset, and your mind and tools are your strongest weapons. While you can always resort to brute force, true mastery lies in stealth and cunning. Enjoy the feeling of getting better with practice. Gathering information and understanding the world around you will reveal new opportunities and hidden advantages. Discovering recipes and materials will let you create powerful items and expand your abilities.

Challenges You’ll Face

  • Guards armed to the teeth
  • Magical security systems with complex codes to crack
  • Imposing heights that mean instant death should you take the wrong step
  • The front door is the quickest way in, but the loudest
  • Traps set for unsuspecting thieves
  • Enemies will make use of lights and torches if they suspect something (or someone) is hiding in the darkness

Development Status

We’re currently working on the first game to use a new 3D technology that combines classic pixel art with smooth, full 360-degree movement. Everything you see in the videos and screenshots is actual gameplay footage, captured directly from the game engine.

Project Shadowglass












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2026-03-14 02:27