Mansions of Madness video game renamed Arkham Horror: Mother’s Embrace, releasing in 2021
Spooky spin-off headed to PS4, Xbox One, PC and Switch.
The much-delayed video game spin-off from horror board game Mansions of Madness has re-emerged from the shadows with a new name, a new developer at the reins and a new release date next year.
Announced in early 2018 as Mansions of Madness: Mother’s Embrace, the video game is a fully-fledged spin-off from the popular co-op board game that sees the players’ group of investigators explore haunted houses and unsettling towns in search of hidden mysteries, deadly cults and inevitable cosmic horror.
Set in 1926, the game is a single-player game in which the player controls a team of characters as they investigate the murder of a professor in her home. Players assemble their plucky group from a roster of 12 characters with unique skills and explore the mansion, investigating and engaging in turn-based, squad-based tactical combat when it comes to it.
Rather than directly adapting one of the various scenarios from Mansions of Madness and its expansions, the game’s narrative is said to be an original storyline penned by writers from Mansions of Madness publisher Fantasy Flight Games, while still drawing on the Lovecraftian monsters, psychological horror and pulp action of the board game.
Mother’s Embrace was first slated for release on PC and Mac in Q1 2019, before sliding to later in the year - and then out of the year entirely. Up to this month, the game’s Steam page continued to give its release date as Q2 2019.
A major factor in the game’s delay was the closure of developer LuckyHammers, which was shuttered in July 2019. The studio was also behind the digital adaptation of strategy board game Terraforming Mars, released in late 2018. An update on the game’s Steam page last August clarified that “development has never halted” on Mother’s Embrace despite the studio closing, adding “we have now made arrangements to ensure full continuity on current and future titles, including Mansions of Madness and Terraforming Mars”.
Publisher Asmodee Digital has now revealed that Mother’s Embrace has changed hands to Artefacts Studio, a French developer with credits on games including the digital version of Warhammer dungeon-crawler Space Hulk Tactics.
The video game has also been retitled to Arkham Horror: Mother’s Embrace, referencing the wider Arkham Horror Files franchise and shared universe of horror board games that includes Mansions of Madness, Arkham Horror, Eldritch Horror and more. The series sees recurring investigators and locations appear across the games, as well as other crossovers.
Expanding beyond its initial announcement for PC and Mac, Arkham Horror: Mother’s Embrace will now also be coming to PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The game has not yet been confirmed for release on the new PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S consoles, which both launch next month.
Arkham Horror: Mother’s Embrace will release in 2021, priced at $19.99/19,99€ on all platforms.