Occultists, Ghosts, and Witchers, oh my.
The Occultist is a first-person supernatural ghost story crafted by DALOAR and Daedalic Entertainment, and it certainly has an interesting premise, one that really intrigued me. As you travel to Godstone Island in search of your father, you discover that a cult has performed a ritual that has made the island devoid of life, almost frozen in time. However, Godstone Island isn’t the only part of the game devoid of life, as this soulless walking simulator just lacks any real impact. In short, it's boring, but it's not all bad.
If anything, The Occultist had a fantastic trailer that really highlighted the few solid moments of the game, but it also suggests a much brisker pace and action element that just isn't present. The Occultist also doesn’t really pack the scares to back up its premise, with little direction to promote the ones it has, often happening behind you. Alan’s journey to find his father and discover the truth behind this dark ritual is painfully drawn out, even through its 6-8 hour campaign.
You play as Alan Rebels, an Occultist who arrives on Godstone Island in search of his father, Gabriel. The island was once full of life back in the 50s, but has since become nothing more than a ghost town. Again, solid premise, and one that should work, but everything built around this story just doesn’t deliver. At all.
It also doesn't help that Alan feels woefully underprepared for this journey. He arrives with no tools or equipment, apart from his Pendulum, an artifact that will allow Alan to wield four distinct abilities that he simply stumbles upon. While he will make remarks of previous outings, we the player, simply don't get to understand the context of this experience and his lack of reacting to anything only reinforces this. All in all, Alan is a bland and boring protagonist that doesn't have anything interesting to say.
And speaking of that…
Part of that reason is in the delivery and presentation of the character. Voice work can truly make or break a character, especially one that is trying to convey a certain aesthetic, tone, and vibe. Now, while the bulk of the game’s limited voicework is servicable, Doug Cockle as Alan simply doesn't work, and not only ruins the character, but the tone as well. Cockle shines as Geralt in The Witcher, but as Alan, he sounds bored, and his one-liners are as flat as a texture and out of place. It also doesn’t help that Alan isn’t written particularly well, giving Cockle very little to work with.
Godstone Island has a few locations that you'll explore, dive into its lore, and use the pendulum to investigate and solve a series of puzzles, some of which are really well thought, where others have the solution right next to you.
Locations you'll visit include a farmstead, an orphanage, a circus, a cemetery, and a massive mansion. Unreal Engine 5 is used fairly well here to bring those locations to life. Environments are full of detail, and the overall level design is anywhere from good to great. However, despite that, they feel like you are on a amusement park ride, as there isn't much to really interact with as you move from one area to the next.
The game's biggest failure; however, comes from the game’s inability to provide an atmosphere that makes you afraid of every dark corner. You'll often see spooky antics as you approach doors or walking down hallways, but you ever feel the sense of dread the game wants from you.
As you explore Godstone and attempt to get to the bottom of your father’s disappearance and the ritual that has enveloped the island, Alan will gain four abilities through his use of his Pendulum. First, you’ll be able to manifest items such as documents that further explore the lore, see the trails of bloodstains on the floor, or conjuring up other items pivotal to progress. While you’ll often manifest items that have nothing to contribute, it is a neat trick that is used well enough, but never really stands out. Secondly, you’ll be able to manipulate time, such as fixing a broken statue, or moving a series of items around on a desk. Again, cool trick, but wasted potential. Lastly, you’ll be able to send out a phantom bird to collect out of reach items, or command a mischief of rats to do your bidding.
However, the pendulum tells you when it can work, so you’ll be aware of when you can perform each ability. This causes the experience to be one that holds your hand firmly and the lack of experimentation with these powers, at least the interesting ones, really limits any sort of trial and error. As such, there are few instances of red herrings to shake things up, and once you’ll see the pendulum glow, you are already half way to solving whatever needs done. Imagine if Breath of Wild’s abilities were only usable under very limited restrictions, it would sour that experience to its core.
These abilities are largely used to solve puzzles, as combat isn’t really a part of this game, despite the structure of the few boss encounters. However, while there are several enjoyable puzzles, many of their formats repeat far too often for those puzzles to genuinely end up feeling unique. Any puzzle that requires a name simply becomes a waiting game until you find a four or five letter name, and while this is the first game I’ve ever made cotton candy in, too much of this game is finding a thing to make a thing work, and it leans on this concept far too often. The circus is especially bad for this as you track down tokens and tickets, bouncing you around almost randomly.
As mentioned, Alan isn’t a fighter, but there are a few forces out there that will get physical with our Occultist. Exploding dolls and spirits can harm and kill Alan, or taking a shovel to the back of the head by a familiar stalker can also get the job done as well. Alan can hold his left hand up and see the decay forming around it, and when it is entirely black, you’ll die. Thankfully, the consuming black does fade away fairly quickly, and all Alan has to do is often run away from the threat and they will either blow up or fade away. That said, that stalker with the shovel was a damn nuisance.
The Occultist should be a game that I adore, given these types of games are usually my bread and butter. But when you can’t get behind your lead protagonist, you sort of lose interest in their journey and what makes them tick. Godstone often looks the part, and while a few puzzles and scenarios are exactly what this game nails, the same can’t be said for the whole package. As it stands, this is a game with a ton of wasted potential as its individual components don’t gel, and a cool premise is something that can only get you so far.
Developer - DALOAR.
Publisher - Daedalic Entertainment.
Released - April 8th, 2026
Available On - Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC.
Rated - (M) - Blood, Strong Language, Violence.
Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X.
Review Access - A review code for The Occultist was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.