Strange Scaffold, the studio behind I Am Your Beast and El Paso, Elsewhere, has unveiled Gods With Badges, a narrative tactics game centred on the moral weight of police authority and the decisions officers make in life-and-death situations. The announcement came during the Triple-I Initiative showcase on 8 October, with the game scheduled to arrive on Steam for PC in 2027.
Players take on the role of Harrow McClellan, a disgraced police officer reassigned to her original precinct after a scandal that once ended her career has transformed into law enforcement legend. The game frames every dialogue choice and tactical encounter as a decision: lean into the reputation that precedes her, or attempt to transcend it and forge a different path.
Patrolling a dystopian city
Gameplay unfolds across the open hubs of Scarhelm, a futuristic dystopian metropolis where Harrow conducts routine police work—seizing contraband, responding to complaints, and combing back alleys for evidence. The choices made during these interactions ripple outward, shaping her relationships with fellow officers, the public, and the institutional systems that govern her work. Each decision carries weight in how others perceive her and how she perceives herself.
When situations escalate, the game transitions into isometric turn-based combat. During these encounters, players can take cover, rescue hostages, and calibrate the level of force deployed. A distinctive mechanic allows players to temporarily disable Harrow's body camera, which unlocks new tactical options and dialogue possibilities but erases the public record of what transpires. This creates a tension between effectiveness and accountability that sits at the game's thematic core.
Building on abandoned foundations
Gods With Badges originated as Hard Justice, an unrealised project from strategy studio Artificer. Strange Scaffold has taken those foundations and development materials, reinterpreting them through its own creative lens. Studio head Xalavier Nelson Jr. described the project as among the most ambitious Strange Scaffold has undertaken, emphasising the studio's gratitude to Artificer for entrusting them with the work and their commitment to building something intentional and striking on that foundation.
The game represents the latest entry in Project Share, an initiative Strange Scaffold launched last year to foster sustainable game development through technology and resource sharing among studios. The first project to emerge from this collaboration was Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 1: Re-Raptored.
Composer Kris Kirk, who previously scored Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator, provides the soundtrack. Strange Scaffold's track record with previous titles suggests the studio has the creative vision to deliver something both culturally resonant and mechanically engaging.
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