The Seance of Blake Manor News

[p]Hello detectives, [/p][p][/p][p]One of the most important elements of being a detective is being able to read people. To pick up on their body language, unspoken clues and even the ability to know if they are lying to you or not.  [/p][p][/p][p]All of this is equally important in The Séance of Blake Manor. [/p][p][/p][p]During your time at the hotel you will encounter 17 guests, 5 staff and 2 residents all of whom appear to have something to hide. Not everyone’s secrets relate to the missing woman, but it’s up to you to find out those that do.  [/p][p][/p][p]There are a number of ways to uncover what these people are wanting to conceal from you including utilising Analysis Mode, you can examine elements of their appearance and countenance that might prove useful to further your investigation.  [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Discussing clues and observations you have made around the hotel as well as general conversation (whether eavesdropped or direct) can reveal a lot. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Exploring their rooms can also be very enlightening, but you have to make sure you won’t get caught in the act! [/p][p][/p][p]There is also a lot to learn from the Manor itself. Interacting with elements discovered as you explore (or snoop) can further your investigations in a big way. Detective vision highlights all the elements around you that you can interact with but be aware some are more relevant than others, so choose wisely. [/p][p][/p][p]There is a lot to learn, uncover and remember as part of this case so the in-game menu is a great tool to help you keep your discoveries in order and even piece together mysteries as you go, forming hypothesis or branching off on new lines of enquiry… [/p][p][/p][p]The Séance of Blake Manor is coming 27 October 2025. Play our demo and wishlist now. [/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p]Hello detectives,  [/p][p]Creating the perfect atmosphere for the supernatural happenings at a mysterious, remote hotel was shaped by the fantastic music composer, Clement Panchout. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Clement discusses the key considerations and inspirations in making the music of The Séance of Blake Manor. [/p]

• [p]Q: How would you describe the music of The Séance of Blake Manor?[/p]

• [p]The soundtrack is all about atmosphere and immersion. At its core it’s ambient-orchestral, with a strong gothic and Victorian influence. You hear a lot of strings, piano, and textures that creak and resonate, almost like the manor itself. I also worked with a granular sound approach, subtle sound design, and sometimes a few modern touches (a distorted synth here, a pulsing beat there) to make you feel something is wrong. The cello is really at the center of the music. It’s one of my favorite instruments and here it became the backbone. Sometimes it is lyrical, sometimes more screeching. The piano is also a key element, often detuned or processed to make it slightly unsettling. Together they carry the gothic weight of the story. 
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• [p]Q: Music really helps to enhance atmosphere; how did you make the music fit so well with the game? [/p]

• [p]I was lucky to get access to the game very early in development. Walking through the manor, even in an unfinished state, helped me see how the music should breathe with the environment. I also read some of the team’s conversations and reference material. Even if those were not directly for me, they gave me a lot of clues about the mood and the kind of mystery they wanted to create. From a technical point of view, we worked in layers. I delivered different variations of the same track with different moods, and these could be combined or crossfaded in FMOD. That makes the soundtrack dynamic. It changes depending on where you are and what is happening, almost like the music is another character in the game. [/p][p][/p]
• [p]What were your most important considerations for the soundtrack of the game? [/p]

• [p]The first thing was to stay true to the gothic setting and the late Victorian era. That’s why I used strings and piano, which feel natural for that period. The game is full of occult symbols and spiritism, so I added small modern touches to twist things around: a detuned layer that evolves slowly, a texture that feels like whispers or a slight crunchy distortion that gives the impression of insects crawling in the dark. Another big focus for me was depth. I love using delays and reverbs to create a kind of vertigo, like endless corridors going into the shadows. I wanted every pad or drone to feel alive and always moving, so the player never feels completely safe. 
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• [p]What were your inspirations for the music for The Séance of Blake Manor? [/p]

• [p]I took a lot of inspiration from games I love, my classics: Diablo, Fallout, Bioshock, but movies as well. I also added touches of classical music, and post-rock! 
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• [p]Do you have a favourite piece of music from the game? [/p]

• [p]Yes, the music at the very end, during the reveal. Without giving anything away, I played a lot with paradoxes in that spot: gravity versus lightness, heavy bass versus soaring piano melody. It creates a tension between being pulled down and lifted up at the same time. For me, as a player, this moment is really charged with latent intensity. It feels like everything comes together musically and emotionally at that precise moment. [/p]

[p][/p][p]The Séance of Blake Manor is coming on 27 October 2025. Play our demo and wishlist now. [/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p]Hello, Detectives. [/p][p][/p][p]Today were were alerted of a security risk to users who use applications made in certain Unity versions. To keep you and your data safe, we have decided to temporarily take down The Séance of Blake Manor Demo. We will re-release the Demo before Steam Next Fest after having updated it to remove this security risk. [/p][p][/p][p]Read more about the security risk here: https://unity.com/security/sept-2025-01[/p][p][/p][p]We apologize for this, and want to assure our detectives that the Demo and full game at release will not contain this vulnerability. [/p][p][/p][p]Thank you for your understanding, [/p][p][/p][p]Raw Fury and Spooky Doorway[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]fáilte roimh detectives![/p][p][/p][p]The Séance of Blake Manor is a supernatural whodunnit, set in 1897 Ireland, during the height of Victorian spiritualism. A group of mystics has travelled to a remote manor-hotel in the west of Ireland to perform a séance on Halloween – the time when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest.  [/p][p][/p][p]But when one of the mystics goes missing, Detective Declan Ward is asked to come and investigate her disappearance. [/p][p][/p][p]Little does Ward know that there are otherworldly elements at play that will make this an unusual and disconcerting case to solve. [/p][p][/p][p]As you arrive at Blake Manor - 48 hours before the Grand Séance - you meet a whole host of mysterious characters, any of whom could be responsible for Evelyn Deane vanishing. Twenty-four possible suspects from all walks of life and all corners of the world. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]From Irish druids to English landowners to Egyptian archaeologists, each person has their own motive to uncover, their own story to unravel, and their own agenda to discover. Their stories are influenced by the spiritualist movement, the secret orders at work then, mythology, and the history of the time.   [/p][p]Many of them are Gothically tragic – so beware, the faint of heart! [/p][p][/p][p]The manor itself, and the Blakes who built and have lived there for over 250 years, are shrouded in secrets and tragedies of their own. The creative team travelled to Ireland, visiting old stately houses - being kindly granted access to secret rooms and dungeons - to dredge up some of the nastier parts of Irish history to bring the place to (un)life. [/p][p][/p][p]All of this combines to create a web of conspiracies that Charlie Day would be proud of – there are 35 mysteries in the game. Despite the ever-present threat of time, there are enough hours in the day to unravel them all in a single playthrough - but that would require the talents of the world’s greatest detective.  [/p][p][/p][p]Or perhaps a second run? [/p][p] [/p][p]The Séance of Blake Manor is coming on 27 October 2025. Play our demo and wishlist now. [/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p]Hello detectives,

The Séance of Blake Manor’s distinct art style and dark aesthetic is a large departure from the colourful and chunky pixels of our previous series of games, The Darkside Detective.

It’s one of those projects that began as an art experiment that fit with a lot of themes we had been thinking about. The evocative mix of 2D and 3D art was the perfect setting compelling to bring the eeriness and mystery of Blake Manor to life.

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After some time and taking inspiration from some of our favourite artists such as MIke Mignola, Tim Sale and Eduardo Risso, we were able to settle on the art style showcased today. [/p][carousel][/carousel]

We feel like the comic-book aesthetic, with dark shadows and vivid reds really leans into the mystery of the Blake Manor and hints that there is much more below the surface for Declan Ward to discover.

Throughout the design process of the game, we have always wanted to convey the mood of Blake Manor, the guests and staff and the many supernatural elements that you can discover at the hotel.

[h3]How would you describe the art style of The Séance of Blake Manor? [/h3]

I like to think of it as a baroque comic style, draped in darkness, imperfection and vivid colour.

[h3]Was this the art style that you always had in mind for this game? [/h3]

In many ways the art style inspired the game. We had long wanted to make a larger and more contemplative experience than the comedic adventures of The Darkside Detective. Many of Blake Manor's collective elements had been floating around for a while. We knew we wanted to combine Irish mythology with an interactive narrative and interesting mechanics, but it properly found its feet when we started to play around with the comic book aesthetic

We had worked on other 3D prototypes in the past, but our previous efforts didn’t feel very compelling or special, and they did not demand a story from us. When we started working in the comic style and mixing 2D and 3D together, some visual magic happened that became a good foundation for exploring some spooky possibilities.

[h3]What were your most important considerations when it came to the art style of the game? [/h3]

I think readability is always the most key consideration in any video game artstyle. The player at a glance should always be able to read a scene and know its geography. Blake Manor looks like a drawing when you stop and look around, but you are never in doubt about what you are looking at, unless that is the point.

Every scene has a lot of black baked into it, this helps to emphasize areas of light and adds an important layer of gloom and spookiness that would otherwise be missing from such a clean style.

The other main consideration is making everything as imperfect as possible. The art is sharp and minimal, but whenever we could we would damage and add nicks and imperfections to our linework. The balance was adding the imperfection, but keeping the are sharp and clean as much as possible too.

[h3]What were your inspirations for the art for The Séance of Blake Manor? [/h3]

I’ve always loved comics, ghost stories, old horror movies and generally anything set in the Victorian era. The classic ITV Sherlock Holmes series from the 1980s was always a favourite of mine. When I started to pull on those threads I found an interesting mix of things to play with.

Obviously many other games have used a comic book aesthetic before us, but I looked at the work of some of my biggest inspirations, Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets, MoonShine), Mike Mignola (Hellboy, Bram Stoker’s Dracula), David Mazzucchelli (Batman: Year One) and Tim Sale (Batman: The Long Halloween). Their deceptively simple and bold styles always evoke mystery and atmosphere for me. Their work is special, and most of the time it is equally elevated by what they do not draw instead of what they do. They are very economic with what they put on a page, yet their art conveys so much to the reader.

I found there were aspects to their work which would translate well to a 3D world and help to set an atmosphere. So many choices and imperfections that could be injected into the scenes allowing each moment in the game to feel like a drawing and also an interesting environment to wander through.

[h3]Do you have an art element of the game that you are particularly pleased with how it turned out? [/h3]

I am quite happy with how we’ve utilised in-game comics to tell the story. The game obviously has a comic visual, but by using comic panels and cutscenes we’ve been able to expand our canvas and sell more dramatic moments or focus in on details.

The very consistent style allows the story to jump between 3D and 2D and it never feels jarring. It gives moments in the game a unique depth and more range then had we relied on animated 3D cutscenes which would have been very challenging for our small art team.

[h3]Did you want to use a completely different visual style from your previous games? If so, why? [/h3]

Art style can be a vehicle to tell the sort of stories you want. In the Darkside games, the big blocky pixels and rich assortment of colours added to the goofy, comedic atmosphere, and felt like a comfortable fit for the classic adventure game audience. Those characters work perfectly in their little abstracted world.

The Séance of Blake Manor evolved from the dark and bold comic art I was experimenting with. It lent itself extremely well to the sort of story and experience we wanted to explore. The sharper resolution, atmospheric staging and dramatic cutscenes were the sort of canvas that allowed us to build an intriguing and spooky mystery and to take huge swings with our mechanics and storytelling.

Paul Conway CEO & Art Director

The Séance of Blake Manor is coming 27 October 2025. Play our demo and wishlist now.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1395520/The_Sance_of_Blake_Manor/