Want to join the list of unique engrossing survival horror games, Dark mass is an upcoming title developed by the Spanish -based studio road games. Dark mass Invite players to an entire underwater's first person weird adventure. Fans will play from the perspective of Alice, a deep -sea scientist who finds a sinking mansion where a persecutive dark presence lurks.
IN Dark massPlayers will need to solve disturbing puzzles based on historical torture methods while struggling to deal with enemies, darkness and moral decisions that will affect Alice's fate. Because the story of Dark mass is almost completely sub-aquatic, the development team in Path Studio had to carefully approach fear like Thalassophobia, which is the fear of drowning in deep water and claustrophobia. Game Rant recently spoke with Path Games founder and Dark mass Developer Virginia Calvo and Gonzalo G. Luna about what it meant for the team to create an unfortunate underwater world.
How Road Games pressed the boundaries of deep -sea phobia in dark mass
According to Calvo and Luna, most engrossing horror games work in a horizontal plane with X and Z axles. But the team behind Dark mass Chose a different path to improve the feelings of claustrophobia and used vertical exploration. As the developers explained,
“By introducing verticality, we pressed claustrophobia to a new level. The world is not only wide – it is deep, filled with narrow passages and vertical spaces that increase the tension.”
Another important theme in Dark mass Is Thalassophobia. Calvo and Luna share that “90% of the game takes place underwater”, so they admit that players may need to step into the game with their fear of drowning something tame. But the developers describe that Dark mass Trying to balance incredibility without giving a frustrating experience.
Such as one of Dark mass“Major Gameplay Elements is the Walkie-Talkie system. When he explores, Alice will communicate with his brother Reed, who can advise Alice with puzzles and decision-making. But Calvo and Luna add that the Walkie talkie not only improves the lowering lowering but also acts as a voltage switch that can relieve the water.
The challenges behind Dark Mass' submarine world
To further take the submerged experience, the development group must address underwater physics, and Calvo and Luna reveal that this was a rather time -consuming challenge. Nevertheless, the team noticed how each item would behave so that players would feel it Dark mass“The world had” consistent, credible rules. “As the developers explain, horror hits harder with realism present to some extent. The handling of realistic underwater lighting also meant their own difficulties, as light behaves very differently under the sea:
“The deeper you go, the less the colors start to fade in shades of blue and green. This creates a unique challenge when it comes to guiding the player, especially since we cannot trust lively visual clues. But we have found solutions that use tools that Walkie-Talkie and other techniques never feel like players.”
As in most horror games, the sound will play a crucial role in Dark mass'Surrounding game. Calvo and Luna share that they designed different sound layers for each environment to follow both intense scenes and moments of calm.
In the case of other engulfing gaming features, Dark mass“Decision systems will lead to several finishes. Unlike other decision -based horror games, however, the developers reveal that” not all decisions are text -based “in Dark mass. Instead, some decisions will relate to how much players have explored the manor or whether they have discovered certain objects or not. On the other hand, Calvo and Luna add that re -playability is not really a main goal for the team as much as it is that players can completely relate to their first Playthrough.
Dark mass“The first trailer showed a certain similar enemy in the eerie mansion. Calvo and Luna reveal that players can look forward to even more creatures in future trailers, as well as more interactive game elements.
Dark mass Is under development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with a release window planned for autumn 2026.
