World War I has been the setting for plenty of games, but few have approached the Western Front quite like Trench Demon. Newly revealed for PC, Boiling Games’ upcoming action RPG puts players in the armor of a seemingly unstoppable figure who walks through gunfire and tears through enemy soldiers while advancing across the trenches of the Western Front.
Set in 1914, Trench Demon builds its premise around soldiers beginning to whisper about a mysterious figure in armor who cannot be killed. That figure is the player character, and rather than trying to survive the horrors of the battlefield, the goal is to become the horror that the soldiers are afraid of. The Steam page describes the campaign as a push across the Western Front, with the player taking on everything standing between them and their advance.
Combat is heavily focused on close-quarters fighting, with combos, parries, dodges and counters forming the foundation of the action. The trenches are designed to make those encounters particularly claustrophobic, with the player swinging heavy blades through narrow corridors while enemies attempt to surround and overwhelm them. Trench Demon also features real-time dismemberment and physics-driven reactions, making individual hits have a more tangible impact on the battlefield.
The game’s central character is not exactly a conventional soldier, either. Trench Demon gives the armoured warrior a bullet-time aura that slows incoming projectiles as they approach, allowing the player to move through gunfire rather than simply taking cover from it. The Steam listing also says that enemies will react to the player’s behaviour, with riflemen coordinating their fire, some soldiers dodging or blocking attacks, and tougher opponents requiring players to learn their patterns.
The first trailer gives a look at that concept in action, showing the armoured Trench Demon pushing through World War I battlefields and engaging soldiers in brutal melee encounters. The footage highlights the game’s third-person perspective, heavy swordplay and the contrast between the grounded look of the trenches and the almost supernatural presence of the protagonist. Gunfire pours toward the player while the armoured figure continues advancing, reinforcing the idea that this is less a traditional war game and more a dark fantasy interpretation of the Western Front.
There is also plenty of bloodshed on display, with the trailer showcasing the game’s violent combat and enemies being cut apart by the player’s attacks. That fits with the Steam listing’s mature-content warning, which specifically notes frequent violence and gore.
Trench Demon isn’t simply about cutting through the same soldiers over and over, either. Boiling Games says enemy behaviour will adapt as the player progresses, eventually shifting their attention away from fighting opposing forces and toward dealing with the Trench Demon itself. Players will also unlock new skills through a progression system, giving the game a stronger action-RPG structure as the campaign develops.
The battlefields themselves will mix hand-crafted and procedurally built World War I trenches, suggesting that the game will use different approaches to create its environments while maintaining the confined, muddy atmosphere associated with the Western Front. Death is also part of the progression loop, with players expected to learn each section, return to the fight and grow stronger through newly unlocked abilities.
Trench Demon is currently planned for release on PC via Steam in 2027. There is no specific release date yet, but the game is already available to wishlist for anyone interested in seeing just how far Boiling Games can take the idea of turning one of history’s most brutal battlefields into the setting for a supernatural action RPG.