It’s crazy how many different sub-genres don’t get explored and how many different kinds of topics we don’t usually see in video games, despite how open-ended the creative platform is for allowing creators to make just about anything they want.

Well, developers Digital Bento decided to tackle the touchy subject of the Salem Witch Trials from the 17th century during the turbulent time of fear-mongering and killings in the name of Christianity in order to stop the spread of Satan’s influence across the east coast.

In this case, players will take on the role of investigating the murders of a family, where the father’s head is bashed in to the point where his skull has collapsed, and the only surviving member of the family has vanished into the night. Players will have to interrogate the townsfolk and discover exactly who is behind the murders and whether or not witchcraft really had anything to do with the murders.

Digital Bento’s A Salem Witch Trial plays out like a visual novel, but with touches of adventure game thematics.

Players will venture around the small town, visiting the market, town square, forests and fields in an attempt to find out who was involved with the murders and why.

The overarching narrative centers around a town becoming grossly fascinating with the persecution of people they perceive to be witches, thus growing the pool of suspects to a much larger degree than you might think.

Visually the game relies on a graphic novel aesthetic with hand-painted backgrounds. The game has an obvious, dark, muddy look to fit the times.

Players will have to go over the evidence and eventually choose who the culprit is from the list of suspects. The game’s multiple paths and player-driven choices will determine which ending you end up with.

You can look for A Salem Witch Trial to launch on Steam starting February 23rd for only $3.99. For more info you can visit the Steam store page.