Hey Xbox Wire readers! I’m Yared from Whitethorn Video games, and I’m right here to share slightly data about our newest launch, The Forest Cathedral, which launched immediately on Xbox Collection S|X!
When you might know us from the various cozy, heartwarming titles we’ve revealed, resembling Calico and Lake, The Forest Cathedral takes a barely darker course. The sport, whereas nonetheless adhering to tranquil, low-stress gameplay, evokes a extra unsettling, eerie feeling that approaches the realm of horror. Gamers will embark on a mysterious, atmospheric psychological thriller based mostly on the real-world ecological disasters attributable to the pesticide DDT, or as developer Brian Wilson extra precisely describes the style: an environmental thriller. The sport is performed from the standpoint of environmental scientist Rachel Carson, although the actual star of the present is the haunting setting itself.

Strategies of Analysis
The Forest Cathedral’s totally voiced, wealthy narrative is instructed by a mix of two gameplay kinds. One is its first-person 3D exploration through which the participant navigates Science Island, conducting analysis on its wildlife. Taking notes and using a particular scanner, the participant investigates the distant island looking for solutions to the thriller.
Alongside the best way you’ll be able to work together with pc terminals the place The Forest Cathedral’s second gameplay type seems within the type of 2D platforming puzzles. On these terminals, the participant controls a 2D character “Little Man,” traversing by the puzzles with a purpose to function mechanisms again within the 3D area. Each the 2D and 3D worlds work together with one another, unlocking new areas or progressing the story.

Artwork Imitates Life
The Forest Cathedral’s story is a dramatic reimagining of real-world scientist Rachel Carson’s environmental science e book, Silent Spring, which documented her discovery of the dangerous results of DDT. Developer Brian Wilson drew inspiration from the tried silencing of Carson and her findings to construct his personal inventive interpretation of occasions.
As Wilson explains, “the story of Rachel Carson is a David vs. Goliath story.” All through the sport, you’ll turn out to be immersed in conditions that evoke a sense of struggling towards overwhelming resistance. On this means, Wilson emulates what he believes Carson should have felt as she battled to share what was in the end life-saving info that big chemical firms didn’t need the general public to know. The Forest Cathedral imparts the identical uncertainty, concern, and confinement, leaving the participant anxious to find how the malicious plot develops.

The atmosphere gamers will discover in The Forest Cathedral relies on Cook dinner Forest State Park’s personal Forest Cathedral, positioned in western Pennsylvania – close to the place each Wilson and Carson grew up. The vibrantly rendered environment paired with the atmospheric soundtrack – together with a number of authentic items composed by Wilson – create a peaceable but eerie setting for the story to unfold. From the dramatic top of the towering indigenous timber to the tranquil lake that hugs the shores of the island, intrigue surrounds you as you comb the island and unravel its mysteries. Although domestically impressed, the sport’s themes of social consciousness and our responsibility to our surroundings apply globally.
Ease of Entry
Whitethorn Video games desires to make sure that as many gamers as potential get the prospect to take pleasure in our titles, and The Forest Cathedral implements many accessibility options with that purpose in thoughts. Just a few of the adjustable settings embrace:
- Full keyboard and mouse or gamepad controller help
- Enter rebinding for many actions
- Excessive-contrast sans-serif textual content/subtitles and Open Dyslexic typeface choices
- Visible results toggles
- Frequent checkpoints
- “Flip Off Spikes” toggle, eradicating platforming part hazards
- “Float Mode” toggle, decreasing platforming part fall velocity
- Much more choices, all obtainable from the settings menu at any time
With these settings, gamers can customise their expertise to finest go well with their playstyle and skill at any level of their playthrough.
We hope that you simply take pleasure in unearthing the mysteries of Science Island in The Forest Cathedral, obtainable now within the Xbox retailer!


The Forest Cathedral
Whitethorn Video games, Inc.
$14.99
The Forest Cathedral is a first-person environmental thriller set on a distant island. Taking part in as scientist Rachel Carson, gamers will work out why the island gained’t let her go away. The sport tells the reimagined story of the tried silence of Rachel Carson main as much as her discoveries on the dangerous pesticide referred to as DDT.
Slowly uncover the results of DDT on this dramatic reimagining of the story of Rachel Carson. Use superior environmental know-how to resolve 2D/3D linked puzzles.