Ghostly Matter

My soft spot for solo-dev passion projects is well-documented, and Ghostly Matter lands squarely in that category. One Italian developer, three years of work, and the result is a 2D metroidvania adventure hybrid set inside the sprawling, cursed Blackwood Manor in 1986 Scotland. You play Professor Penderghast, a ghost-hunting academic whose central tool is the Polterscope - a visor that shifts perception between the physical world and the spectral plane. Think of it as a paranormal Lens of Truth: flick it on to reveal invisible enemies, hidden clues, and secret passages; flick it off to conserve batteries and health. The tension of managing that toggle is the heartbeat of the whole experience. Progression here leans far harder toward graphic adventure than the metroidvania label suggests. Object puzzles, diary entries, cryptic environmental clues, and item-combination riddles do most of the heavy lifting. The Polterscope uncovers hidden messages and paths necessary to advance, and the game expects you to actually pay attention - or, more honestly, to keep a pen and paper nearby, because the in-game map is rudimentary and the quest log simply does not exist. That retro design philosophy is intentional and sincere: the whole thing has the DNA of LucasArts-era adventure games crossed with old PC platformers, chiptune soundtrack included. Optional faux-CRT filters and simulated graphical glitches are available if you want the full nostalgia immersion. The arsenal grows as you explore: a flamethrower that shoots fireballs and doubles as a torch-lighter for environmental puzzles, plus upgraded beam weapons calibrated against specific enemy types - spirits, the undead, demons, each requiring the right tool and often the right dimensional plane. There is exactly one movement upgrade and one weapon gating actual progression; everything else unlocks through puzzle-solving and exploration. That is either liberating or frustrating depending on your tolerance for dead-end wandering. Save points are sparse in the early hours, enemy placement has some genuinely cheap moments - doors that open directly onto a charging enemy, for example - and one-hit spike traps are scattered throughout. Difficulty can be adjusted at any point, which is a quiet mercy the game deserves credit for offering. Where the handcraft really shows is in the atmosphere. The Blackwood Manor setting is committed and moody: over 600 rooms across more than 20 distinct areas, each carrying its own texture. The mystery at the center - what happened to Melvil, what is the curse - is written with enough warmth that finishing it feels genuinely satisfying rather than obligatory. The chiptune score is the kind that sits in your memory longer than it has any right to. For a first game built entirely by one person, the ambition is striking. The rough edges are real, but they are the rough edges of something that was genuinely trying, not something that was rushed. Ghostly Matter is not for players expecting a smooth, modern metroidvania loop. It is for people who miss the era when adventure games trusted you to write things down, get lost, and figure it out slowly. If that sounds like punishment, look elsewhere. If it sounds like an evening ritual, this one is worth the patience. Kai, Scout Team

Valve rates this game Steam Deck Verified.

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