For all the talk of point-and-click adventures being a relic of the past, the genre has really seen a resurgence in the past few years. Thanks largely to the success of ScummVM, vast swathes of classic adventures remain playable today — and just as importantly, influential. You can see that influence clearly in new releases like Return to Monkey Island, and The Dark Rites of Arkham, now available on PC, feels very much cut from that cloth.
Developed by Postmodern Adventures, the new game is a Lovecraftian point-and-click adventure that leans hard into classic genre structure. You play as Detective Jack Foster, who returns to the police force following a traumatic incident, only to find himself investigating what initially appears to be a straightforward case of political blackmail. That illusion doesn’t last long.
The discovery of a ritual murder — carried out in a sealed room with no obvious means of entry or escape — quickly pulls Foster and his new partner, cult expert Harvey Whitman, into something far darker. Before long, the investigation is tied to the Salem witch trials of 1693, three witches who escaped justice, and a conspiracy with distinctly apocalyptic implications.
Lovecraftian adventure
The setting, Arkham, will be instantly familiar to fans of H.P. Lovecraft’s work, and The Dark Rites of Arkham doesn’t shy away from its influences. Characters drawn from Lovecraft’s wider mythos make appearances throughout the game, including Herbert West, Keziah Mason, Doctor Carl Hill, and Henry Armitage. There’s even room for a trip to the Arkham Museum of the Unusual, where the artwork of Richard Upton Pickman takes centre stage.
From a mechanical standpoint, this is a traditional point-and-click adventure built around inventory puzzles, with more than 70 hand-crafted pixel art backgrounds to explore. That commitment to pixel art and deliberate pacing places it firmly in conversation with the classic adventures many players now experience through ScummVM — games where observation, dialogue, and atmosphere mattered as much as puzzle logic.
Audio also plays a key role. The soundtrack, composed by Matías J. Olmedo (An English Haunting), opts for jazzy ambient pieces that underline the game’s noir-horror tone rather than overpowering it. There’s even a radio show hosted by Maxwell Fontaine that quizzes players on their knowledge of Lovecraft and 1930s horror cinema, a nice touch that reinforces the period flavour.
In fact, in my opinion, based on the trailer the soundtrack could be the enhancement of atmosphere that this game needs to push it into instant classic status!
Where can you get The Dark Rites of Arkham?
Postmodern Adventures is the solo studio of Barcelona-based developer José María Meléndez, whose previous work includes Urban Witch Story, Billy Masters Was Right, Nightmare Frames, and An English Haunting. Across those titles, Meléndez has built a reputation within the adventure scene, picking up multiple AGS awards along the way, and The Dark Rites of Arkham appears to continue that trajectory.
The game is available now for PC via Steam and Itch.io, priced at $14.99 / €13.99 / £13.99, with a 10% launch discount running until February 17.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through those links. This comes at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
