The Occultist Builds Horror Without Jump Scares: Interview with David Lorenzo of Daloar

In The Occultist, you explore an abandoned island still occupied by the dead.

Daloar’s The Occultist is a narrative thriller horror game published by Daedalic Entertainment. I sat down with DALOAR founder and lead designer David Lorenzo to talk about building a first-person horror game without gore or cheap jump scares, drawing from a real-life medium, and why PS1-era horror still holds up.

From Steam:

In The Occultist, paranormal investigator Alan Rebels travels to the mysterious island of Godstone to determine the cause of the sudden disappearance of his father. Even though he mentioned the island repeatedly over the decades, all that Alan really knows is that his father was born and spent his early years there.

However, Alan does not travel alone. He carries with him his mystical pendulum, an object of unknown origin that accompanied him on all his past paranormal investigations. As he explores the foggy streets and maddening buildings, apparently being the only things that remain on the mysterious island of Godstone, it becomes clear: This will be a case unlike any other.

It’s a gorgeous-looking game, available now on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X.