Gloomwood Finally Unveals Big Hightown Update
Gloomwood is a true promise of a “Thief-with-guns” immersive sim since the first demo dropped, and now the long-awaited content updates have come to us. New Blood Interactive has finally unleashed Hightown, a massive update that changes how you will survive the night. This new world offers a whole new set of threats, tools, and maneuvers to aid in your travels through the cobblestone streets.
Entering The Hightown District
For years, we’ve been scraping by in the fishery and the mines, but Hightown offers a verticality that completely shifts the gameplay. We aren’t creeping through caves anymore; we are navigating a twisted, gothic metropolis that feels alive and actively hostile. The architecture is a playground for the stealth-obsessed players. The new vertical design means death can come from above or below, but it also gives you—the Doctor—way more options for traversal.
Scrambling up the thick fog to the rooftops to avoid a patrol feels tense and rewarding, letting you witness the heavy and dreadful atmosphere of the urban ruin below. You get the feeling that this city was once grand before it was consumed by the curse, adding a layer of tragic storytelling to the environment that you don’t need a cutscene to understand.
Something New For Your New Troubles
The Hightown update delivers with a weapon that could have been made by Van Helsing himself. The new revolver is fitted with a rifle stock and a scope, fundamentally changing the combat engagement ranges in an instant. In the tight corridors of the earlier levels, the shotgun was king. But in the sprawling verticality district, being able to touch someone (with a bullet) from a rooftop away is essential. It turns the game from a frantic survival horror scramble into a tactical sniper’s paradise.
Your New Troubles: Good Evening, Constable
You’re going to need that range for the patrolling Constables trudging about the streets. These guys are pig-faced nightmares with a level of aggression that forces you to rethink your “run and gun” strategies. They are angry, tanky, and will zap your butt and beat you to death if you give them the chance.
For those beasty brutes, the stealth system, which tracks light and sound propagation with obsessive detail, becomes your best asset. You really have to listen to their footsteps and plan your strikes, or you’ll be reloading your save file before you can reload your revolver. You’ll be the eyes in the sky and have your ear to the ground.
Gloomwood’s New Hightown District is a Sign of Life
The Hightown update proves that the devs aren’t sitting on their hands; they are meticulously crafting a world that stands toe-to-toe with the genre giants like Bioshock and Dishonored. Gloomwood has been in early access for three years, but the group has been giving us updates on the progression and community feedback. The Early Access is currently available on Steam for $19.99 USD, and the devs plan on releasing the full game at $29.99 USD.
Take a Nightly Constitutional Through Hightown
The city is open, the Doctor is in, and the hunt is on. Just the trailer alone shows a blooming underworld along the rooftops of Hightown. You have new monsters, new weapons, and a whole new perspective as you shoot and hop above the streets. Gloomwood seems to be picking up development momentum with this big update, so it can be said that there will possibly be more coming. Check it out for yourselves, and make sure you have your cane blade and revolver loaded before you take your stroll.
