Do you like grime? If you do, chances are that David Szymanski has been on your radar. After making a splash with smaller titles like Squirrel Stapler and The Pony Factory, along with practically defining the boomer shooter movement with Dusk, Szymanski has been cooking up a fantastic project that really leans into its two main inspirations: Manhunt and Condemned. It plays like the latter and is just as grimy as the former.
It’s Butcher’s Creek, a gritty first-person horror game where blunt weaponry and snuff films are as common as guts and grotesque gangsters. Slated for release in January 2025, the game promises to meld the worlds of grueling combat and organized snuff parties into something that overwhelms the senses and terrifies in equal measure. But what can you expect from the recently released demo? And how does it stack up compared to its inspirations?
Getting Butchered in Butcher’s Creek
You play as a loner whose penchant for gore leads them to an isolated cabin in the Pennsylvania wilderness. Naturally, the kind of obsessive gorehound who places themselves into an unknown area just to fulfill their strange desires also isn’t very bright, as their ensuing expedition places them into direct danger. The cabin isn’t abandoned. Far from it, actually. Instead, it’s home to an organized collection of freaks, killers, and otherwise unsavory individuals who make their living by creating snuff films. Left with nothing more than whatever blunt instruments you can find, you’re tasked with making an escape from such a hellish place while relishing in the wanton violence caused by your own hands.
In Szymanski’s own words, per an official post on Steam, the game plays like Condemned and is thematically similar to Manhunt, two of the most grimy urban horror games you’ll find to this day. Being a Condemned veteran myself, the comparisons were immediate—in fact, it was almost like stepping back into the shoes of Condemned‘s Ethan Thomas once more. I was giddy.
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The game takes place from a first-person perspective, allowing you to wander around, collect items, grab blunt weaponry from the environment, and subsequently swing said weaponry into the skulls of your enemies. You can also kick things, which has some use in combat—even though you’re inexplicably missing shoes. Being a weirdo, you also have access to a camera, allowing you to take pictures of terrible atrocities and other instances of gore lining the floor and walls. This is the only substantial way to refill your health.
Snuff really does tie into the game beyond just its theming. Snuff films—yes, as in actual VHS tapes—serve as a sort of universal resource with several different applications. For one thing, the more tapes you have in your possession, the higher your total health is. However, you have to sacrifice tapes in order to open certain doors locked by television screens. This even extends to saving your game: you better have a tape ready, lest you have to move on without saving your progress. It’s a level of resource management that really adds to the foundation set by Condemned.
Unlike its other major influence, however, Butcher’s Creek lacks any kind of substantial stealth. Manhunt is here in theme only, as you’ll be spending the vast majority of your time swinging, blocking, and kicking your way through vulgar thugs and insane torturers. Lore notes give a bit more information as to what’s going on, and a stamina gauge limits how often you can attack and sprint away from danger. Weapon durability ensures that you’ll be swapping out your tool of choice for something better—or worse—frequently.
Something also worth mentioning is the environmental design. Yes, it’s the same kind of creepy, foreboding, grey, and grimy locations you’d expect from something like Butcher’s Creek. But what came as a genuine surprise was how the environment itself is more than just set dressing. Your character is barefoot; hence, stepping on broken glass is a big no-no. Boxes and other physics objects can be manipulated if you’re not carrying any weapons. Even just the ability to throw weapons opens the door for some interesting environmental interactions in the future.
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As for how it plays? It’s Condemned. No, really. Down to weapon impacts, the speed and weight of your swings, and the vulgar obscenities lobbed at you by your foes, it all screams a darker, grittier version of Monolith Productions’ intense horror-thriller. While it lacks some of the additional mechanics found in Condemned‘s sequel, the omission of the balance-breaking taser and the inclusion of a stamina gauge feels appropriate. It’s even more methodical, more push-and-pull when it comes to trading blows with your enemies. It’s fantastic.
The demo is fairly short but gives a decent idea of what to expect from the final product. Kill enemies, collect tapes, redistribute tapes when needed, kick things with your gross bare feet, and collect unsettling lore notes whenever possible. There’s even a tease of something greater, including a fun Easter egg tied to Szymanski’s The Pony Factory. Otherwise, what you see is what you’ll get for around half an hour.
Should You Play Butcher’s Creek?
Yes. Call me biased, but out of all the games by David Szymanski that I’ve ever played, I can’t say I’ve ever disliked any of them. Some are definitely stronger than others, but while some may lack a kind of nebulous “je ne sais quoi,” they more than make up for it with their overall execution and dedication to their strange premises. Butcher’s Creek looks to be more of the same, but instead of leaning into morbid humor or otherworldly horrors, the danger is very much real. It certainly helps that both Condemned and Manhunt are some of my favorite horror franchises, both of which having dropped off the public radar for decades by this point.
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Though Szymanski’s DUSK has a few moments of brevity—and outright laughter, to be honest—the kind of haunting atmosphere that you would feel throughout only got more and more intense and effective with each successive level. While you can expect a similar level of morbid humor or otherwise offbeat moments, Butcher’s Creek definitely falls more in line with the kind of horror in something like Squirrel Stapler or The Pony Factory, leaning in on its bizarre premise with some genuine horror to boot. It’s nothing if not promising.
In short, try the demo if you’re interested. For the few that still regularly play through either Condemned or Manhunt (or both) every few years, you’ll find something to appreciate here. Knowing who’s putting it all together, to begin with, you can expect a satisfying horror game that isn’t afraid to try something a little off-kilter.
Butcher’s Creek is currently slated for release in January 2025. Be sure to check out the playable demo on Steam.
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Two of my favorite games combined? I’m in