One of the more interesting game reveals from today’s Triple-i Initiative showcase was Gods With Badges, a narrative-driven tactics game about a disgraced police officer returning to the line of duty. What makes Gods With Badges even more fascinating is that it was canceled by its original developer and saved by El Paso, Elsewhere developer Strange Scaffold.
The press release announcing Gods With Badges explained that the project began at Artificer, the Devolver Digital-owned studio behind games like Minos, Sumerian Six, and Showgunners. Originally called Hard Justice, the project ultimately didn’t pan out and almost never saw the light of day.
Meanwhile, Strange Scaffold is spearheading an initative called Project Share, which encourages developers to share the original code for their games so other studios can riff on it. This previously helped enable the development of another Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion game and has now saved an Artificer game from cancellation.
The press release explains that Gods with Badges took the work already completed by Artificer and reinterpreted it “through Strange Scaffold’s distinctive creative lens.” Studio Head Xalavier Nelson Jr. added that he is “deeply grateful to the original developers at Artificer for trusting us with their project, and can’t wait for people to see what we’ve built on this complex, exciting foundation.”
Gods With Badges follows a disgraced police officer named Harrow McClellan as she patrols the dystopian city of Scarhelm. Each encounter starts with choice-driven conversations but can devolve into isometric, turn-based combat. Players can even turn off their bodycam to gain access to more combat abilities, though this will obviously affect how the narrative plays out.
I expect this game to tackle subjects like police brutality and the role of law enforcement in an increasingly dystopian world. Gods With Badges will be released on PC sometime in 2027.
