Here’s a simulator with a darker job description than washing patios. The Inquisitor Simulator playtest opened on Steam on 26 October, and you can still request access from the game’s Steam page. Developed by edyan.dev and published by Fulqrum Publishing, it casts you as a newly appointed Inquisitor running your own medieval abbey, where the work involves interrogation, alchemy and exorcism, all supposedly for the greater good.
You arrive on a stormy night with little authority and fewer resources. Budgets are tight, and as the publisher puts it, the forces of evil aren’t going to banish themselves.
What’s in the playtest
The playtest covers the opening chapter of Act 1, and it’s deliberately a small slice. According to the official announcement, you can:
- Investigate prisoners and work out whether they show signs of demonic possession, using a mix of diagnostic tools and considerably less gentle devices.
- Brew potions in a basic alchemy lab, or gamble on the abbey’s leftover stock.
- Fight exorcised demons and cast your first spell.
- Give orders to prisoners, telling them to follow you, move to specific places or “cooperate” with certain procedures.
Only a handful of possession types and symptoms are included for now, with many more mechanics, tools and possession types planned for the full game.
The detail that tells you most about the game’s design is the exorcism brew. RPG Jeux Vidéo reports that its effect depends on the type of possession: get the diagnosis right and it frees the victim, get it wrong and it can kill them. That’s the hook: like Papers, Please, the tension comes from making consequential judgements on incomplete evidence, except here the paperwork is holy water and a rack.
The tone: very dark, very deliberately silly
This is a game about torture, possession and religious persecution, and it’s not subtle about it. The themes are mature, and it isn’t for everyone. But the marketing makes it clear the developers are leaning into black comedy rather than grimness. One feature is titled “Nobody Expects the Inquisition”, a nod to Monty Python that sets the tone. Another promises that the guilty often reveal themselves by joining in with “sinful suggestions”.
Whether that balance works over a full game is the big question the playtest is meant to answer.
Who’s making it
edyan.dev is a small team of three. In its own words, the game is mostly developed by a solo creator with the help of two close friends, and the team has been making mobile games since 2020. It’s running a playtest this early because it wants player feedback to shape the game before features are locked in.
The publisher is Fulqrum Publishing, which is having a busy month. It’s also behind the console launch of the retro shooter HYPERVIOLENT and the WWII wargame collection Theatre of War: Rearmed.
How to join
Head to Inquisitor Simulator on Steam and select Request Access under the playtest section. You’ll be notified when the developer is ready for more participants. There’s no release date for the full game yet, so wishlisting is the way to keep track.
If Papers, Please crossed with a medieval exorcism manual sounds like your idea of a good night in, it’s worth signing up. For more PC news and indie discoveries, see our PC coverage.