Vertpaint Games, a newer studio made up of former Rockstar Games, CI Games, and TT Games veterans have announced Ritual Tides, new photorealistic horror game they have in development.
Ritual Tides is in development for Windows PC and will launch sometime later in 2025 and for “all major consoles” afterwards.
“At Vertpaint, we’ve earned a reputation amongst developers as innovators,” said James Macleod, CEO and creative director at Vertpaint Games. “With Ritual Tides, we cannot wait to show the world why as we take players on an escapade that combines the charm of true horror and original character designs, all brought to life through meticulous animation and artful conception.”
Here’s a rundown on the game, plus its reveal trailer:
In Ritual Tides, players will find themselves washed up on a beach with the only goal being to uncover the island’s horrific secrets. Gruesomely designed enemies lurk, danger lies around every corner, and you best hide, or run. Ritual Tides presents a ‘gun’, but not in a typical fashion, candidly setting it apart from other games within this space. More on this to come, no spoilers for now!
Ritual Tides is set to make waves within the horror genre, and is being developed by a proven team made up of senior talents from the likes of ex-Rockstar, CI Games, TT Games, and more. Talent knows no bounds within Vertpaint Games, with glowing appraisals from industry legend and Director Jonathan Berube, who referred to the team as “The seal team of game development.”
Ritual Tides is being developed using what the team describes as a ‘two stream’ approach, meaning design and game mechanics are prioritised alongside art research and development. As avid gamers and horror fans, the team is crafting something genuinely memorable and will be sure to stick in players’ minds long after the credits have rolled. Enemy variation is central to the development ethos and unlike other horror focused titles, Ritual Tides will provide a wealth of encounters, each more uniquely terrifying than the last.
As if all of this wasn’t riveting enough, Vertpaint Games is purely independent and uncompromising in its uniquely dark vision for Ritual Tides, with no external publisher input to potentially hinder the process. The team also promises to set the visual quality bar for 2025, giving Ritual Tides players a near photo realistic immersive story to unfold.
