Active Fungus Studios reveal the release date of Inspector Schmidt – The Ebbing and release new demo
On 07.04.2025 Active Fungus Studios will release Inspector Schmidt – The Ebbing on Steam. Just in time for Steam Nextfest, a new demo with about two hours of playtime and insights into the main game will also be released on 13.02.2025.
Munich, 27.01.2025: Active Fungus Studios announce the release of Inspector Schmidt – The Ebbing for 07.04.2025. To kick things off, a brand new demo with around two hours of playtime will be available from 13.02.2025, which includes the first quest of the main game and explains the game mechanics.
What’s new in the game?
In the tradition of other detective games, players will find exciting number, picture, search and combination puzzles to solve in The Ebbing. The first puzzles can already be played in the demo.
Probably the biggest innovation in The Ebbing is the introduction of a new mood facet: Mystery. The first part, A Bavarian Tale, was already mysterious, dark and sometimes bloody. In The Ebbing, a whole mystery storyline now awaits the main character Valentin Schmidt, complete with creepy moorland and nameless horror. The stealth mechanics have been completely reworked for this.
Otherwise, the Munich-based game developers have kept the tried-and-tested features from its predecessor, A Bavarian Tale: Exciting dialogues, bizarre and funny situations with quirky NPCs, a branching, complex plot with different endings, a voice and text output in (Northern) German and English as well as a strong historical reference to the 19th century, which significantly influences the setting of the plot.
Historical Setting
The year is 1870 and the first functioning transatlantic telegraph cable has just been put into operation, heralding a new era of communication between the USA and Germany. Industrialisation and social movements are gaining momentum – and with it, critical discourse and conflict among the population. And then there is the Franco-Prussian War which worries people: nobody wants to be drafted.
Story
Valentin Schmidt, a young civil servant, just wants to spend his well-deserved holiday on the North Sea. After an eventful boat voyage, he finally arrives in picturesque Havstedt – but then events take a turn for the worse: Bente Hansen’s body is found at the telegraph station.
Valentin’s holiday seems to be over … unless he uncovers the culprit and ensures safety in Havstedt again. However, he soon realises that every faction of the idyllic little town harbours its own dark, strange secrets. Who – or what – has Bente Hansen on their conscience?
Will you be able to get to the bottom of the sinister happenings in Havstedt?
Gameplay
Explore the open world: Move freely around a coastal town in 1870 and search for clues.
Lead exciting dialogues: Use the dialogue mechanic to question the residents, gather compelling information and find out who is hiding something.
Start a confrontation: Question the suspects and catch the perpetrators
Search for clues: Use your detective sense to find hidden evidence.
Crack exciting puzzles: Use hidden clues and, above all, your wits to find important information.
Evade detection: Slip into forbidden areas and survive the dangers of the moor – getting caught is not an option!
Pass the skill checks: Use your abilities in classic pen and paper skill checks (dice rolls).
Level up: Develop your character and decide which skills you want to improve.
Craft useful items: Gather resources and build items and consumables to improve your skills.
Make difficult decisions: Your actions affect the course of the story. Decide for yourself how you want to succeed: Through charisma, diplomacy, … the mission is clear: crack the case!
Free character handbook for newsletter subscribers
The demo is not the only goodie: new newsletter subscribers receive a free character handbook with space for notes as a thank you. It is designed to help you keep track of the trials and tribulations of Havstedt’s intrigues. Readers can also look forward to exciting historical background information on the individual NPCs and their context in the turbulent times of the 19th century. Finally, they can take an extremely accurate personality test to find out which of the three NPC archetypes they correspond to.
The best way for fans of the Inspector Schmidt series to keep up to date is via the AFS Discord server, the newsletter and on Steam.
About Post Author
