Strange Scaffold has announced Gods With Badges, a narrative tactics game that examines the power, social dynamics, and institutional pressures of law enforcement, and serves as a resurrection and reinterpretation of a cancelled project by Artificer. It will launch for PC via Steam in 2027.
“With its unique production circumstances and desire for cultural impact, Gods With Badges is among the most ambitious things Strange Scaffold has ever undertaken,” said Strange Scaffold studio head Xalavier Nelson Jr. in a press release. “I’m 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. We’re taking it seriously—and doing something that is both intentional and striking.”
Here is an overview of the game, via Strange Scaffold:
About
Gods With Badges is a narrative tactics game examining the power, social dynamics, and institutional pressures of law enforcement through narrative consequence and brutal turn-based battles.
Originally conceived by acclaimed strategy studio Artificer under the name Hard Justice, Gods With Badges builds upon the foundations and development materials of an ambitious, previously unrealized project, reinterpreting them through Strange Scaffold’s distinctive creative lens.
The project also represents the latest entry in Strange Scaffold’s broader “Project Share” initiative, which Strange Scaffold pioneered last year (and resulted in the creation of Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 1: Re-Raptored) to encourage developers to exchange technology and explore additional methods to make game development sustainable.
Players take on the role of Harrow McClellan, a disgraced police officer transferred back to her original post after the scandal that drove her from her home becomes the stuff of law enforcement legend. Every turn-based encounter and dialogue choice is a decision to play into this reputation, or attempt to stand above it.
In Gods With Badges, players will patrol the open hubs of Scarhelm, a dystopian city of the future. Seize contraband, investigate civic and criminal complaints, and search dirty back alleys for evidence. Dialogue choices, arrests, and uses of force shape Harrow’s relationships with fellow officers, the public, and the institutions surrounding her.
When situations escalate, players enter isometric turn-based combat, taking cover, rescuing hostages, and deciding how much force to use while attempting to keep themselves and their fellow officers alive. Players can also temporarily disable Harrow’s body camera, unlocking new tactical and dialogue options while removing the public record of what happens next.
Like every officer around her, Harrow holds power over life and death—and operates beneath the protection of qualified immunity.
You are a god with a badge.
Key Features
- Patrol the streets of Scarhelm in gorgeous and decayed open environments.
- Decide the fates of your fellow citizens in a bold anthology campaign by the creators of I Am Your Beast and Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator.
- Turn off your bodycam to unlock tactical options and special dialogue choices.
- Isometric turn-based combat with cover mechanics, and the decision to execute suspects or risk your position to secure a lucrative arrest.
- Customizable officer loadouts with a wide range of strategy-altering equipment.
- Sweeping noir soundtrack by acclaimed composer Kris Kirk (Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator).
- A resurrection and reinterpretation of a cancelled project by renowned strategy studio Artificer.
Watch the announcement trailer and first developer log below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.