New Blood, the developer-publisher behind indie darlings Ultrakill, Dusk, and Fallen Aces announced yesterday that the early-access immersive sim Gloomwood will be receiving an update featuring some of the most impressive content they’ve put out so far–at least according to the game’s production team. Developer Dillon Rogers, who also worked on Dusk, joked on X after the announcement:

Dave: we shouldn’t make Hightown too big
me: OOPS IT’S HUGE AGAIN

(I’m bad at scope, we all know this) https://t.co/df5mLRYtkj

— Dillon Rogers (@TafferKing451) December 8, 2025

The official announcement on Steam doesn’t give any specifics about the new content being added, other than that it’s the “largest” and contains the “most sophisticated, lethal and complex” enemies ever put into the game. Gloomwood, which is divided into tightly designed levels, is confirmed in the post to open up a vast new area to explore called Hightown. This will be patrolled by the aforementioned hyped-up new enemies the Constables, who despite their funny-looking hats, seem armed to the teeth in the screenshots provided; and a couple of them wave around what looks to be a menacing new stun baton. Fans of Gloomwood will be happy to hear also that Hightown and the Constables will roll out within the next couple of weeks before the Steam Winter sale.

Three years have gone by since the game’s 2022 early access release date, and although this update looks to be hefty, there’s still no word from the developers about a timeline for 1.0. Regardless, there’s still a solid amount of content for players to enjoy, and even before the current updates, the game received incredibly good reviews from both players and critics for a project of its size. It still sits at over a whopping 95% positive on Steam, and PC Gamer and Eurogamer have both previously given it glowing appraisals in their early hands-on experiences with it. Writer Christian Donlan at the latter publication remarked on Gloomwood’s immersive mechanics, attesting;

This is the kind of freedom that a game can only give you when it deals, paradoxically, in real rigour… So much to see and do! And I’ve only just made it outside.

As Donlan touches on, in Gloomwood, the environment, as daunting as it may be, serves as the player’s gory little playground. Stab everything, blow it up, or devise a meticulous route through shadows and rooftops to circumvent it all. The game prides itself on its interactivity–as any good self-proclaimed immersive sim should–and it delivers. And the gameplay isn’t the only thing swinging for it either–its lauded lo-fi rendering and Victorian visuals derive clear influences from industry classics like Thief and Bloodborne, as fans have lovingly remarked. New Blood indeed specializes in odes to pioneers of Video Game art direction; as their other titles echo the expert sprite-work and 8-bit art origins of contemporary greats. It’s this bespoke fusion of meticulously honed game systems and dedication to nostalgia that indie titles like this excel at, and despite Gloomwood seemingly having a long way to go before full-launch, what’s here already and what being added with the next update is really impressive.