Othercide

Othercide is a horror-themed tactical role-playing game from French indie studio Lightbulb Crew, published by Focus Home Interactive. It launched for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on July 28, 2020, with a Nintendo Switch version following on September 10, 2020. Critical reception was generally positive.

Gameplay

In the game, players command a group of female warriors called Daughters, who battle nightmarish enemies known as the Suffering within a dimension called the Dark Corner. Combat uses a dynamic timeline system: characters and foes take turns, but players can use skills to delay enemy actions or speed up their own Daughters. Each action costs action points; spending too many exhausts a Daughter, forcing a longer wait before her next turn.

Three classes are available: the melee-focused Blademaster, the high-health Shieldbearer, and the ranged support Soulslinger. Each class has unique abilities that can be chained together, and skills are extensively customizable. Player choices also shape each Daughter’s traits and personality.

Roguelike elements are present. Battles occur on small maps, and if the player’s squad is wiped out, progress is not lost; instead, new items called Remembrances unlock, improving combat efficiency and survival. Healing a fallen Daughter requires sacrificing another Daughter, with the survivor gaining altered traits for further customization.

Development

Development began in 2017. Art director Alex Chaudret aimed to make the game visually distinct from other strategy titles, drawing inspiration from BLAME, Berserk, and Claymore. The setting was initially a city inspired by Paris, where Lightbulb Crew is based, but the team chose an otherworldly dimension—the Dark Corner—to avoid grounding the game in reality. Chaudret described the Dark Corner as “shaped by broken psyches and trauma.” The color palette is mostly black and white, with red used to highlight key lore and gameplay elements.

Reception

Publisher Focus Home Interactive announced the game on February 21, 2020. The PC and PlayStation 4 versions received generally positive reviews on Metacritic, while the Xbox One version got mixed scores. On OpenCritic, 68% of critics recommended the game.