Glasshouse Brings Feudalpunk Intrigue and Political Drama to Gamescom 2025

Glasshouse at Gamescom: Why This Feudalpunk cRPG Caught My Eye

Every year, Gamescom churns out a conveyor belt of flashy AAA demos and slick trailers, so when a game like Glasshouse emerges from the indie trenches promising feudalpunk political drama in a condemned condo, I have to take notice. This isn’t some neon-drenched, open-world “live service.” Instead, Glasshouse goes for a mix of the personal and the political, all wrapped up in a theatrical murder mystery. And the fact that it’s being shown at the Indie Arena Booth by a zero-budget, spare-time collective? Consider my curiosity officially piqued.

• Feudalpunk setting blends late-stage capitalism, lock-down drama, and political intrigue
• Demo promises meaningful choice-less RNG, fewer dice; more “consequences are your fault”
• Designed for grown-up RPG fans who don’t have 100+ hours to spare
• Created by a remote collective inspired by cult favorites like Disco Elysium and Pathologic

Breaking Down the Announcement: A Different Flavor of RPG

Let’s cut through the “love letter” marketing fluff. At its core, Glasshouse is trying to sidestep the usual cRPG time-sink by dropping players into a focused, high-stakes scenario that still promises freedom and consequence. You’re stuck in the appropriately grim Dormitory 73B, locked down and boxed in by both a murder scene (three corpses, no less) and an unraveling global crisis. The whole thing is set against a backdrop the devs call “feudalpunk”-think post-capitalist power structures mashed with Victorian/Renaissance vibes, where tech has stagnated and the world is carved up into “Feuds” instead of nations.

What stands out immediately is the political system: instead of just picking “chaotic good” or “neutral evil,” you actually build your ideological persona along five axes. It’s more complex than the old D&D or Fallout systems, and if they can pull it off, decision-making could feel less like checking off quest objectives and more like shaping your character into something personal-and perhaps uncomfortable.

The Real Innovations: Playable Demo Promises & System Design

As a cRPG nerd who was obsessed with Disco Elysium and forever haunted by Pathologic’s bleak, consequential design, I don’t need much more than “fewer RNG rolls, more responsibility.” It sounds like Glasshouse is all about letting players talk their way out of conflict as long as they can, then only forcing combat as a last resort. If true, that aligns with what fans of narrative-driven RPGs have been begging for: fewer filler fights, more real tension.

The alpha demo at Gamescom is only 30 minutes of Act I, but showcasing open exploration, your first taste of turn-based combat, and the all-important “customizable political build” is a bold move. If they can hook players quickly—especially those burned by bloated 100-hour RPGs—there could be a legit audience here. And let’s be honest, very few teams working out of their spare time have enough ambition (or foolishness) to try.

Also: Glasshouse’s “theatrical play” structure, with events narrated by a director and observed by a chorus, is a left-field choice. It hints at a meta layer reminiscent of games like Kentucky Route Zero or even earlier BioWare experiments, where the narration is part of the gameplay tension. If they can use this to comment on the futility—or absurdity—of condo politics amidst disaster, it could land as clever rather than pretentious.

Why This Actually Matters for RPG Fans

Plenty of indie games riff on “choice and consequence” but rarely nail the feeling that your decisions truly matter. Glasshouse is gunning for that, all within a setting that’s refreshingly mundane and political, instead of magical or apocalyptic for the hundredth time. The “condominium thriller” angle is almost overdue: the idea of negotiating, spying, or backstabbing your way past neighbors—with global consequences lurking overhead—feels close to home for anyone who’s ever tangled over a broken mailbox or a busted elevator.

What gives me pause? Ambition vs. bandwidth. A remote, unfunded group is tackling systems most big studios fumble. But then again, passion projects sometimes have the sharpest edges, and the collective’s film/CGI background could lend the game a unique look or narrative rhythm. The fact that the team references both Disco Elysium and Pathologic tells me they have taste and a sense of risk, if not boundless resources.

TL;DR

Glasshouse is shaping up to be a much-needed experiment in adult, political, and consequence-driven RPG design. Its Gamescom alpha might be short, but if the devs’ ambitions match their execution, this will be one of the most watched indies for RPG fans in 2025. It’s “small condo, big drama”—and potentially, just what the cRPG genre needs to break its own glass ceiling.