In 2024, a Victorian era side-scrolling survival horror game set in Wales released on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Taking place within Mostyn House, a Monmouthshire mansion turned asylum that changes its layout each night, Withering Rooms combines a plethora of ideas, including role-playing and crafting elements, as players take on the role of young Nightingale. Utilising all manner of weapons and witchcraft spells, she must explore not only the Welsh manor itself, but also nearby tombs, mazes and ruins in an attempt to end the madness occurring in a never-ending dream.
Withering Rooms is one of the most unique and captivating games I’ve played in a long time, not just because of its rewarding gameplay that encourages experimentation with the range of combat options at Nightingale’s disposal, but for the very fact that it takes place in Wales while fully and respectfully embracing its Welsh setting. Few developers set their games in this country, and fewer still put in the effort that developer Moonless Formless has by incorporating the Welsh language and other references to Wales.
With a successor called Withering Realms now in development, I had the pleasure of asking Moonless Formless’ solo developer Troy West some questions about his experience creating his debut title Withering Rooms, where the Welsh inspiration comes from and how he implemented it, what he hopes to achieve with his next game, and more.
Aaron: It is approaching a year since Withering Rooms was fully released. Congratulations on a successful first game! How has the general reception been, and what have you been most proud of?
Troy: It has a small but passionate audience, and it has done well enough that I have juuuuust enough money to try and get another game out quickly (Withering Realms is going into Early Access this fall). The thing I’m most proud of is that a few people have told me it’s their favourite game of all time, which is something I never could have imagined. To have people sinking a hundred hours into my little horror RPG is a true honour.
Aaron: What have been the biggest things you’ve learned from developing Withering Rooms that you will be able to take forward into the next game?
Troy: I’ve worked in the game industry as an engineer for quite a while, but Withering Rooms was the first game where I did art, design, etc. so those are the aspects that I improved the most over the course of development. When I started Withering Rooms I had no idea how to even rig a model. On the design side, I’ve also learned a lot, but that’s something I’ll expand on in a YouTube devlog in the next few months.
Aaron: As a Welshman that is interested in and always on the lookout for games with Welsh references, I wanted to focus on the Welsh aspect of Withering Rooms, which is set in Wales. It isn’t often that video games take place in this country, and it is even less common for somebody from outside of Wales to set their game there. You are an American based in Seattle, so what is it that inspired you to have Withering Rooms take place in Wales, and where does your interest in Wales come from?
Troy: My first exposure to Wales was when I got hold of Aphex Twin’s drukQs album. I was curious about the song titles, which are a mixture of Cornish, Welsh and made-up words. In particular, I was struck by the word “Cymru” in the title “54 Cymru Beats”, which led me to learn a bit about Welsh. I thought it was a very beautiful and interesting language, and it stuck around in the back of my head.
The rough outline for the story of Withering Rooms came to me long before I chose a setting. I spent a long time looking for the perfect historical setting. As an American, it would have been a lot easier to set it somewhere like upstate New York, but the America of the late 1800s/early 1900s just wouldn’t have worked with some of the story elements and visuals I felt were non-negotiable. The more I researched, the more perfectly southeastern Wales, around Monmouthshire, and more specifically, the hills above Abergavenny, fit.
Aaron: My feeling when playing through Withering Rooms was how respectfully you handled the Welsh setting. There is excellent attention to detail. For example, the game takes place between 1892 and 1916, and the flag of Wales that was in use during this period can be seen hanging in one of the rooms. What kind of research did you do and what influences did you look at when it came to establishing the Welsh setting to ensure you got it right?
Troy: I’m so happy you feel that way and I’m glad you appreciated these details. Most of the historical attention to detail came from the anxiety of not wanting to make a foolish mistake. Once I decided on Monmouthshire as the rough location, I purchased some books, the most important of which was the single volume Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales, which is just an amazing resource. Beyond that, I just researched each element as it was incorporated, i.e., when I needed flags, I did a bit of research about what flags were in use at the time and what they meant.
Aaron: What challenges did you encounter when it came to establishing the Welsh theme? Was it made more difficult by not coming from or being based in Wales? Did you worry that you may not do justice to the country and people in that sense?
Troy: I was definitely worried about the game feeling “false” or Hollywood-ified, but I think I’d be even more worried about it if I was creating a game set in modern Wales. Going back a hundred years, the world was a pretty strange place, and there would still be quite a few layers of cultural translation and research I’d have to do even if the game was set in America.
I try to do at least a bit of research on everything I put in the game, even light fixtures and plumbing, so I was confident that as long as I put real effort into grounding the setting and characters, historically it might not be perfect, but at least it wouldn’t read as exoticised or exploitative.
Aaron: Another aspect that I thought was handled with great care was the use of Cymraeg, the Welsh language, which can be heard and seen in multiple instances. You have enemies that speak Welsh, posters on walls written in Welsh, and some of the locations outside of Mostyn House feature Welsh names, such as Bryn Bach Abbey and Twr Gwaed Ruins. Many games set in Wales overlook the language, which is a prominent part of the culture of Wales that Welsh people are proud of, but you have taken the time and effort to make sure Cymraeg was used throughout Withering Rooms. I felt it wasn’t overplayed nor underplayed, so I appreciate how you implemented it. How important was it to you that you utilised the Welsh language, and can you share your insight into how you delivered authenticity in this regard?
Troy: I don’t know how you can spend 30 seconds looking at a map of Wales and not immediately see the need to incorporate the language into your story for place names alone. Also, looking at census data, the use of Welsh as a primary or sole language was much higher during the time the game is set, so it would have felt very off not to have at least some characters speak it. But obviously there are practical issues both for the author (getting translations, finding voice cast) and the audience (who wouldn’t know where to begin pronouncing or, in some cases, even reading some of the place names correctly).
One concession I made was to try to find names that are easier for those unfamiliar with the language to read, but are still both historically and semantically reasonable. A name like Llanfynydd, for example, is straightforward to read and the meaning is very clear when you are even passingly familiar with Welsh, but for your average non-Welsh player, it’s going to look like a confusing assortment of letters, and the phonetic pronunciation is going to be completely off.
I hired a translator to translate the voice lines and look over the names and places I’d chosen, and it was definitely quite a relief when they didn’t find any major issues with my choices up to that point.
Aaron: Unless my ears deceived me, I think there is a phonograph in one area of the game that is playing a Welsh song. Could you reveal what that song and its significance is?
Troy: The phonographs play old public domain records from the era. There is some German and French, but no Welsh. They’re quite scratchy, so it’d be easy to mistake the language. I would definitely not include records like that again, since I discovered there are copyright trolls out there who will fraudulently issue YouTube copyright strikes even against 110-year-old works.
Aaron: Is there anything that you learned about Wales or Welsh culture that you found fascinating while researching and developing Withering Rooms? What else would you like to see with regards to Wales in video games? Are there any famous or mythical Welsh figures or creatures, locations in Wales, or something else about Wales or Welsh culture that you would like to see incorporated into video games?
Troy: While researching names, I really loved reading about Welsh mythology. Obviously plenty of references to Welsh mythology have shown up in various fantasy games, the most recent example I can think of being Elden Ring, but I really want to see a game that is just Welsh locations, spirits and monsters. Even if some of the archetypes would be familiar, the names alone would make it feel very unique. For instance, a game set in Annwn, exploring Caer Sidi, encountering the Cŵn Annwn, etc.
Aside from mythology, I was initially thinking of setting the game near Merthyr Tydfil so that Mostyn House would be closer to the Mostyn family’s inherited coal mining operation, and I think that town has a very rich and interesting history. I really love the story of Saint Tydfil. The details are sparse, but it’s quite evocative (especially the part about finding her stone coffin when the church was demolished). Also, the story of the 1831 Merthyr Rising (i.e., hoisting the red flag dyed with the blood of a sacrificed calf) has some influence on the next game.
Aaron: You are working on a successor to Withering Rooms called Withering Realms. You have stated that this takes place in the same universe as the first game, with the very Welsh sounding town of Penwyll being the main setting. Would it be fair to say that Withering Realms also takes place in Wales? Either way, are there further Welsh references or Welsh influences that we can expect to see?
Troy: Yes, the game actually takes place in the valley below the hill that Mostyn House sits on. I don’t remember if it’s visible in the trailer, but you can see Twr Gwaed Ruins on the world map a bit north of the town. Being near the epicenter of this world famous “occult event”, the town has attracted a lot of international visitors and residents, but there’s definitely no shortage of Welsh things in the game, probably even more than in Withering Rooms.
Aaron: There are many ways to read into the town’s name of Penwyll, but some ways to translate it would be “Twilight Headland”, “Twilight Peak”, “Headland of Dusk”, or some variation thereof. Would these be fair interpretations, or do you have a more defined meaning behind Penwyll’s name?
Troy: That’s right. I can’t go too deep into the story at this time, but Penwyll is a name given to the town after it was rebuilt following the “occult event”. It sits above a deep crater formed during this occult event, hence it is “perched above darkness”, or like a headland above a sea of twilight.
It was also another attempt to find a compromise name that could be sounded out phonetically in English and not be completely off from the real pronunciation.
Aaron: Finally, what would you like to say to those that enjoyed Withering Rooms and are looking forward to playing Withering Realms? Are there any aspects that you hope players end up enjoying greatly? What feelings do you hope to instill into people that play it?
Troy: When you’re sinking thousands of hours into something like this, it’s easy to feel like you’re working on things nobody will ever notice or care about, so when folks like yourself notice the details it’s extremely validating.
To me, a good game is like a good piece of literature; it’s complex, rich, occasionally meandering, practically spilling over with ideas. I don’t know if I’ve accomplished that, but it’s what I strive for and will continue to strive for with Withering Realms. I’m so grateful for everyone who enjoyed Withering Rooms.
Thank you so much to Troy for the interview! Diolch yn fawr iawn! Good luck with Withering Realms!
Withering Rooms is available now on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Withering Realms will be entering Steam Early Access during autumn of 2025, with a full release on PC and consoles to follow.
Update as of 3rd September 2025: Withering Realms is now scheduled for Steam Early Access release during Q2 of 2026.
Be sure to get the latest news from Moonless Formless at the following locations:
Official Websites
Moonless Formless | Withering Rooms | Withering Realms
Social Media
Discord | Bluesky | X/Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok
For more details on some of the Welsh references in Withering Rooms, watch Wales in Games’ short video below and check out the game page here.
