RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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4 Penny Coffins is Jack the Ripper Meets Among Us, with a little bit of Psychonauts thrown in for fun. In the upcoming social investigation game, up to 8 players hunt a hidden murderer through lies, shifting alibis, and hard evidence . One of the players is the Ripper, a “gleeful demon concealed behind a facade of humanity,” stalking the winding alleys and rotting byways of 1888 London.
Ahead of IGN debuting 4 Penny Coffins’s gameplay teaser during gamescom 2026, which you can see in the player below, I spoke to Other Ocean Interactive Marketing Manager Jared Petty about the game’s mechanics, unique style (think stylized gore on top of monochromatic photographs), and Tim Schafer-inspired humor.
“It's a goddamn blast,” Petty says. “Four Penny Coffins; I've rarely had more fun playing a game with other people. A long time ago I was talking to Tim Schafer and I was asking him about humor in video games. Tim's opinion is that humor in video games is the easiest thing in the world because to paraphrase, ‘Our medium was built on a little yellow man that eats dots being chased by ghosts.’
“Humor and horror have always gone together so well. [Four Penny Coffins] having a multiplayer mode and being a very socially-oriented one creates all kinds of opportunities. Our philosophy was that the comical allows you to laugh so you don't scream.”
Petty says that the game’s humor translates directly into a multiplayer experience where you’re rewarded for trying to work together, but only if you want to.
“If you love trolling your friends, it's a beautiful game to play,” Petty says. “Our multiplayer ‘Ripper’ mode is class-based. All of you have different forensic abilities and are hunting the Ripper before they commit another murder. The fun part is one of you is the Ripper. So seven of you are using fingerprint and blood splatter analysis, photographing things, talking to witnesses, following photoprints, and doing all kinds of detective stuff, one of you screwing with that and occasionally turning into a giant 10-foot demon monster ripping people in half.”
Petty says that, while the “Ripper” mode allows you to work with your friends to figure out which one of you is 19th-century-inspired holy terror, the game’s solo “Magistrate” mode takes a different approach.
“It’s way more Sherlock Holmes-y,” Petty says. “Since you're there on your own, you've got a group of suspects locked up in a jail and you know one of them is the Ripper. You just don't know which one. So you're using tools from all the classes to go out and try to solve the mystery within a time limit. You make your choice and if you are wrong, you are penalized. You have three opportunities for your demerits. You take all your deductive reasoning and all your clues within that time limit, you bring it back, and you’ve got to hang somebody.”
Beyond the game mechanics, Petty says that the setting and style of 4 Penny Coffins is intended to help it stand out.
“I think you can see the influence in the graphic novel From Hell,” Petty says. “4 Penny Coffins is mostly a game that's in black and white until something [red and] violent happens. The game is built around an imaginative interpretation of a very dystopian time in 1888 Whitechapel London, which is where Jack the Ripper was. We wanted to create a sense of abstraction that was evocative of the age. We said, ‘What would an old woodcut newspaper brought to life look like? What would a moving grainy photo from the period look like?’ Our studio director, Chris Navarro, said ‘It's just gotta look cool.’”
When 4 Penny Coffins is released, Petty hopes players appreciate the care that went into crafting its story, mechanics, and style. But while the game promises tons of murder, violence, and mayhem, Petty says you don’t have to be a fan of the horror genre in order to enjoy it.
“It's just a great game for your friends and on your own. It's just really kind of a chill mental exercise, almost a puzzle. If you like puzzle games, you're going to love [it].”
For more from gamescom, be sure to check out everything that was revealed during Opening Night Live.
Michael Peyton is the Senior Editorial Director of Events & Entertainment at IGN, leading entertainment content and coverage of tentpole events including IGN Live, San Diego Comic Con, gamescom, and IGN Fan Fest. He's spent 20 years working in the games and entertainment industry, and his adventures have taken him everywhere from the Oscars to Japan to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Follow him on Bluesky @MichaelPeyton
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