If this is a single flavour of genre that, if you put a gun to my head and forced me to pick a favourite, I would say is my favourite, it’s probably body horror. There are a seemingly infinite amount of ways to project images of devolving flesh and altered bodies into your eyeballs, many of which I find strangely relatable, occasionally comforting. Graft, the next game from the studio behind Battletech and the Shadowrun series, does none of that for me, but its first gameplay trailer successfully twisted my guts into a collection of pretzels, so it’s doing something right (though perhaps avoid the trailer if you’re quite squeamish).
So, that trailer. It opens us up with a man seemingly grafting the torso of a woman onto his body, bloody tendrils tenderly protruding from each person involved, beams of light like live wires helping the fusion along. It’s certainly mesmerising, and I question every disquieting second of it considering the gender politics that might be at play – the woman appears to be almost hugging the man in the gameplay portion of the trailer itself, so I’m curious which way the story may lean.
Watch on YouTube
The gameplay shown in the trailer itself doesn’t suggest much different from the usual survival horror affair, though Graft is also an RPG. Details on the game’s Steam page open things up a bit more, as it sounds like there are relationships to be forged and choices to be made that can “shape your journey and decide the fates of those you meet.”
The titular grafting is a gameplay mechanic too, as you’re able to change your body by picking up parts from fallen enemies or hidden locales (hence the Ship of Theseus angle). These graftings also bring forth “strange cravings and half-glimpsed memories” like the impulse to be cruel and sadistic, or “the hot breath of a lover you never touched.” Curious, and yet more that ropes me into this almost Blame! esque world.
No release date attached to Graft as of writing, but you can wishlist it on Steam, if ya like!
