The Belgian development team known for Blood Bar Tycoon and Magic Forge Tycoon –
Clever Trickster Productions – has unveiled its next project – something quite different from their past works – a first-person horror title titled Sefton Asylum. The game attempts to blend the mechanics of a job simulator with the tension of survival horror and exploration.
Set within a secluded psychiatric hospital during the mid-20th century, the story follows a night nurse who accepts a role at the institution to search for her missing brother. While her official duties require her to look after the facility’s residents, her secret investigation reveals that the asylum is concealing a variety of mysteries and medical horrors.
The core gameplay revolves around a trade-off mechanic during the protagonist’s shifts. Players must choose how to allocate their time, deciding whether to focus on diagnosing and treating patients or exploring restricted wings to find evidence regarding the nurse’s brother. This decision-making process is reinforced by a consequence system where patients who are not successfully treated do not always remain dead, subsequently making the environment more hazardous for the player.
Because the game provides no weapons for the player to defend themselves, survival is tied to medical performance and environmental awareness. Players will face constant pressure to stabilise patients using limited resources while dealing with growing psychological dread and supernatural threats.
The project takes inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft’s Herbert West-Reanimator – and is set to involve themes around reanimation and bodily transgression over traditional cosmic horror.
Sefton Asylum will be available on Steam in the future.
