Tag: Bloody

According to legend, apocryphal or not, the Commissioner of the US Patent Office (of all people) once declared that “everything that can be invented has been invented.” This was in the year 1899 for reference and so, aging like milk under a baking hot sun, his spurious prophecy ended up heralding a century that was defined by its scientific breakthroughs. Indeed, within just a decade of this naysayer’s forecast, our world was introduced to such wonders as the Zeppelin airship, the radio receiver, the vacuum cleaner, color photography, and the Wright Brothers’ biplane.

Of course, this isn’t the only example of predictions proving spectacularly wrong in hindsight. For every uncanny act of augury pulled off by The Simpsons, there’s a prominent banker advising his client not to invest in the Ford Motor Company — on the grounds that “the automobile is only a novelty” — a record label writing off The Beatles as a mere fad, or Robert Metcalfe dismissively claiming that the internet will “catastrophically collapse” by the mid-90s. All true stories, look them up! Hell, prior to setting sail, the Captain of the Titanic boasted that he couldn’t “conceive of any vital disaster happening to [the] vessel,” which is such a specific tempting of fate that it almost feels like it should lead into a contrapuntal It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia title card.

Hopefully, our own predictions aren’t quite so astounding off base, as we now look ahead to our Top Ten Most Anticipated Horror Games of 2025. Because we’d hate to have egg on our face after ridiculing all of those historical halfwits!

The problem is that there’s no such thing as a sure bet in this industry, and even the most auspicious of releases (with the best behind-the-scenes pedigree and confidence-inspiring promotional materials) can let you down. Nevertheless, we’re feeling pretty good about our selections here, either due to the exciting talent attached or because their ideas seem too promising to fail.

If nothing else, this list should serve as a fun time capsule in around twelve months’ time when we revisit it and see how well it holds up. After all, some of these picks might not live up to the hype, while others may fail to materialise whatsoever, and others still could be usurped by dark horses that aren’t even on our radar yet. With all of that said, here are the horror games we’re currently looking forward to most in the new year!

Honourable Mentions: Religious horror The Stone of Madness, supernatural open-world adventure Hell Is Us, a pair of big-name sequels in the form of Little Nightmares 3 and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and the bizarre theme park management sim Mars Attracts!

---

10) FBC Firebreak

Remedy’s intricate world-building and offbeat storytelling most obviously lend themselves to solo experiences like Alan Wake 2, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for branching out every so often. And a cooperative, PvE shooter set in the Control universe has potential, so long as it can retain the oddball sense of humour that made its forebear so appealing.

FBC Firebreak enlists you — alongside two friends — in the titular bureau’s emergency response unit. Working together as a team, you’ll have to defend the Oldest House from strange “paranatural” invaders, over the course of several action-packed missions that are designed to be replayed over and over again. Think Left 4 Dead crossed with the SCP Foundation.

The jury’s still out on whether Control can make the transition to multiplayer without losing its very singular identity, but if the announcement trailer is anything to go by then there will at least be some of that signature Remedy weirdness here (as evidenced by the final shot, in which an unassuming garden gnome is used as a Weapon of Mass Destruction).

FBC Firebreak will launch for PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series, and PC in 2025.

---

9) Paleophage

I was going to dedicate an entry here to Saber Interactive’s upcoming Jurassic Park: Survival, as it’s the game I am most eagerly looking forward to right now. However, featuring it in a list of anticipated titles for 2025 feels like wishful thinking, especially since we haven’t glimpsed a shred of footage outside of the announcement trailer. As bitter a pill as it may be to swallow, I’ll just have to make peace with the fact that this one is probably still a couple of years away.

Fellow terrible lizard enthusiasts needn’t despair though, because Palegophage appears to be much further along in its development cycle. Positioned as a sort of heir apparent to Dino Crisis (a fossilised IP that Capcom is stubbornly opposed to resurrecting), this one is an horror-action hybrid that pits you against prehistoric beasties that are running amok in a small midwestern town.

Creator LogDev has been chronicling their solo developer journey on social media for the past 12 months and — despite the inevitable resourcing constraints they’re up against — it seems to be progressing nicely. The dinosaur models are very impressive, the over-the-shoulder combat looks intense, some classic Resident Evil style puzzles have been thrown in for good measure and, apparently, there’s also a dynamic enemy encounter system that will ensure no two playthroughs are ever the same. It’s an underdog that I am 100% rooting for, if for no other reason than I have a big Dino Crisis shaped void in my heart that’s in urgent need of filling.

Palegophage is being developed for PC and PS5. You can add it to your Steam Wishlist here.

---

8) Heartworm

Here at Bloody Disgusting, we always appreciate a dose of old-school survival horror that evokes the look, the feel and the underlying design principles of PSOne-era classics. Hence why we championed both Crow Country and Fear the Spotlight in our best games of 2024 list.

That being said, these retro throwbacks are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in the indie scene and the law of diminishing returns is guaranteed to come into effect sooner or later. Before long, relying on the charms of low-fi graphics, fixed camera angles, tank controls and familiar inventory management screens won’t be enough to win people over anymore.

Now, granted, all those boxes have been ticked in DreadXP’s forthcoming Heartworm (as well as the obligatory UI that displays your avatar’s heart rate). Yet we’re singling this particular title out because there seems to be a bit more going on under the hood, besides pure nostalgia bait.

Namely, we are intrigued by its story that revolves around a woman-in-mourning’s search for proof of the afterlife, which she believes will help her process her grief. To accomplish this goal, she’ll head off on a perilous quest into the mountains where, according to urban legend, there is a house that has a special connection to the other side.

Developer Vincent Adinolfi is leaning into the more psychological aspect of horror here, rather than the B-movie schlock of Resident Evil, and it sounds like there’s gonna be real thematic depth and emotional weight to proceedings. Oh, and also a giant spider the size of a bus!

Heartworm is set for a 2025 release on Steam. A free demo is available to download now.

---

7) DOOM: The Dark Ages

It’s DOOM but with a biomechanical, jet-powered dragon that you can fly around and use to rain hellfire down upon your foes. What else do you need to know!?

If that cogent sales pitch doesn’t have you hammering the “pre-order” button right away then consider this: The Dark Ages will also allow you to pilot a super mech, while furnishing you with a gun that grinds up skulls into tiny projectile shards, as well as a frisbee shield that’s serrated with chainsaw-like teeth. And if you’re still not convinced, then I honestly don’t know how to relate to you as a person. Our differences are simply irreconcilable, and we might as well be from different worlds.

Anyway, I’m not certain that id Software’s rebooted DOOM continuity was in any danger of getting stale (after all, who could ever tire of Glory Killing demons to that kick-ass soundtrack?) But were a dramatic shakeup actually required, then a quasi-medieval prequel that doubles down on all of the heavy metal imagery is pretty much the perfect way to pull it off. Just hook this one to our veins already!

DOOM: The Dark Ages will be heading to PlayStation 5, PC and the Xbox Series next year, when it will also debut on Game Pass.

---

6) Silent Hill f

Konami’s revival of the Silent Hill franchise (which, lest we forget, is a legacy IP that they themselves bungled) has been something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, Bloober Team’s remake of Silent Hill 2 managed to overcome initial fan scepticism and went on to garner critical acclaim, as well as numerous GOTY nods.

Conversely, The Short Message was a lame, pandering, dated, stupid, ill-conceived, sledgehammer-blunt and deeply cringey attempt at social commentary; the content of which would have been deemed too preachy for an Afterschool Special. Not to mention it culminated in one of the very worst chase sequences I’ve ever had the displeasure of enduring.

And then there was that God-awful Ascension thing that was monetised in the most obnoxious ways imaginable. Seriously, I’ve seen telescamming operations that treated their targets’ finances with a greater level of respect. I mean, who’d have thought that the infamous Pyramid Head pachinko machine would one day cease to be the most embarrassing thing associated with this franchise?

Bearing that in mind, any new entry in the Silent Hill saga from this point onwards feels like a bit of a toss-up. Either we’ll get a sublime masterpiece or an absolute dumpster fire of epic proportions. Which is perversely kind of fun because it means that, one way or another, it’s going to leave an impression!

File Silent Hill f under the heading of “cautious optimism” then. The first mainline entry in the series for over 10 years, it’s set to take things in a enticing new direction. For a start, the action has been relocated from small-town Maine to rural Japan circa the 1960s. In addition to the picturesque change of scenery, it also appears to be tapping into botanophobia; with the teaser showcasing all kinds of unnerving floral imagery that is at once beautiful and haunting.

Fingers crossed then that this one is going to maintain the standard upheld by the Silent Hill 2 remake, and finally get us excited about the franchise’s future again and not just its past.

Silent Hill f does not currently have an official release date, but Konami has been steadily releasing new entries in this series ever since 2022, so it might be closer than you think.

---

5) Cronos: The New Dawn

Speaking of that Silent Hill 2 remake, Bloober Team are undoubtedly riding high at the moment. I’ll be honest, my relationship with the Krakow developer’s output has had its ups and downs. I found Layers of Fear to be a sub-par P.T. clone at best, and wasn’t exactly bowled over by its sequel or the studio’s subsequent adaptation of The Blair Witch either. Meanwhile, The Medium had cool ideas but faltered somewhat in the implementation.

Credit where it’s due, though, I do believe that Bloober are earnestly committed to self-improvement (often responding to constructive criticism by addressing it head-on in their follow-up titles) and that they have been on an upward trajectory in terms of both ambition and technical execution. So, I’m hopeful that Cronos: The New Dawn will continue that arc.

The premise alone indicates that — having at long last got Silent Hill out of their system — the team is now looking to spread its wings and try something a little different. It’ll have you taking control of a faceless chrononaut who travels to the past in order to rescue select individuals who didn’t survive a mysterious cataclysm. Along the way, you’ll have to traverse a deadly, barren wasteland and fend off mutant creatures with a high-tech sci-fi arsenal.

The cinematic trailer suggests that Bloober has now moved on from Konami’s legendary IP as their main source of inspiration and that they’ve now got Dead Space on the brain instead. The helmeted protagonist looks like he’s been taking fashion tips from Isaac Clarke, the deformed monsters could feasibly be evolutions of the Necromorphs, and it’s got that same over-the-shoulder perspective through which we experienced the many grisly sights of the USG Ishimura.

Those comparisons aren’t being drawn unfavourably by the way, because Dead Space rules and is a fine role model to aspire towards. Hell, I’m a rare apologist for The Callisto Protocol so they can rely on my goodwill. Judging by what we’ve seen so far, however, Cronos: The New Dawn crucially looks to be more than just a slavish homage to Visceral’s title. It boasts fresh ideas of its own, a unique dystopic Poland setting, and a thought-provoking time travel narrative that’s poised to raise interesting questions.

Cronos: The New Dawn is set for release in 2025 and will be available on PS5, the Xbox Series and PC.

---

 

4) The Dark Pictures Anthology: Directive 8020

It’s been over two years since we were invited to stay the night at H. H. Holmes’ Murder Castle, courtesy of the sadistic folks over at Supermassive Games. Billed by the Until Dawn developer as the “Season 1 Finale” to their Dark Pictures Anthology, The Devil in Me saw them pulling out all the stops to deliver their most ambitious interactive drama yet, complete with a beefed-up runtime, new gameplay features and the long-overdue addition of a sprint button. It also happened to be the anthology’s scariest and most engrossing outing to date, which didn’t hurt either.

With the upcoming Directive 8020, having benefited from more time in the oven than any of its annualised predecessors — and with it ushering in the second season of The Dark Pictures Anthology — it’s poised to continue this hot streak. Especially when you take into account its gripping premise.

Where previous entries in the series have dabbled in the slasher, haunted house, psychological thriller and creature feature sub-genres, this one is taking us to outer space for a sci-fi horror bloodbath. Supermassive has cited the likes of The Thing, Event Horizon, Solaris and Prometheus as key touchstones for this, as well as an absorbing mystery plucked from real life.

You see, one common thread running throughout The Dark Pictures games is that they all have some basis in either historical fact or sensationalist headlines, whether it’s the fate of the Ourang Medan ghost ship, the legacy of the Salem witch trials, or the Mesopotamian lore surrounding Pazuzu. Directive 8020 is upholding this series tradition by presenting us with a fascinating “What, If?” scenario, in which NASA explorers crash land on Tau Centi f: a celestial body that has been the subject of great interest to astronomers on account of its prospective habitability.  And wouldn’t you know it, they quickly discover that this “super-earth” does indeed have the right conditions for life. Just not the kind that anybody wants to have a close encounter with.

The refreshing genre switch-up, promising cinematic influences and dependable lead (in the form of Lashana Lynch) bode well for this one. Not to mention, we’re just pumped to see what The Dark Pictures Anthology looks like as it enters this new Season 2 era.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Directive 8020 is set for release in 2025, and will launch on the Xbox Series, PlayStation 5 and PC.

---

3) Bye Sweet Carole

Sometimes a distinctive art style is more than enough to pique the interest of the gaming public. You don’t necessarily need groundbreaking mechanical innovations or showy technical attributes to jump to the top of everyone’s Steam Wishlist, so long as you’ve got a compelling visual hook that catches the eye.

Case in point, Bye Sweet Carole has done nothing thus far to indicate that it’s going to be at all revolutionary in the gameplay department. As far as we can tell, it’s another one of those creepy 2D platformers in which you control a helpless kid traversing an inexplicably hostile world (ala Limbo or Little Nightmares). Yet where it has managed to distinguish itself is with its utterly captivating hand-drawn aesthetic.

Inspired by classic animated features of yore, Little Sewing Machine’s title is set to capitalise on that oddly sinister vibe that so-called “children’s films” used to have in spades. You know, back when they possessed real cojones and weren’t afraid of mentally scarring youngsters beyond repair.

If you think golden age Disney (specifically, all of the traumatising parts of Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad) meets Don Bluth then you’re in the right ballpark. The early marketing teases some intense moments that we can’t wait to experience for ourselves; whether it’s a journey through an ominous woodland — that’s clearly meant to echo Snow White’s first night alone in the wilderness — or a stealth encounter with a hooded figure that’s liable to wig out even the adults amongst us.

If Bye Sweet Carole has nothing else going for it beyond some gorgeous artistic flourishes and clever tributes to the animated greats of yesteryear, we still reckon it’ll be worth checking out when it releases sometime in 2025.

Slated to launch in 2025, Bye Sweet Carole will be available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, the Xbox Series and PC.

---

2) The Midnight Walk

Sticking to that theme of unique visuals, The Midnight Walk is shaping up to be yet another looker. Similar to Bye Sweet Carole, it’s largely being promoted on the strength of its deceptively childlike art style that’s sure to turn a few heads.

From the eccentric minds behind Lost in Random (under the banner of their new start-up, Zoink), it’s essentially a buddy road movie as filtered through the idiosyncratic, dark fairytale sensibilities of Henry Selick. You’re put in the — no doubt ash-clogged — shoes of a traveller known only as The Burnt One, and must embark on the titular pilgrimage across a phantasmagorical highway that is patrolled by all manner of macabre monstrosities.

Accompanying you on this quest is The Midnight Walk’s adorable, albeit slightly freaky, mascot: Potboy! With a silhouette that’s comparable to the default SackPerson from Little Big Planet, and a visage that recalls the masks of either Lock, Shock or Barrel from The Nightmare Before Christmas; he’s got a winning design that’s sure to make him exceedingly merchandisable in the future.

However, the character’s most distinctive feature is not his body shape. Nor is it his bug-eyed physiognomy or even the flame that is permanently smouldering atop his head. Rather, it’s his texture. You see, just like everything else in The Midnight Walk, Potboy is made entirely out of clay; both within the diegesis of the story and also out here in the real world.

An authentically handmade effort, the team at Zoink have sculpted every single one of The Midnight Walk’s assets live in their pottery studio, before then 3D scanning the resulting models into the code of the game itself. What you therefore end up with is a collection of interactive creatures, sets and props that feel way more tactile than anything a programmer could ever conjure up without the aid of physical materials. For instance, you can truly appreciate every crack in the stoneware, alongside various other minuscule imperfections that would likely be smoothed over if the models were instead designed from scratch in a sterile computer environment.

All of which contributes to this DIY quality that we think will imbue The Midnight Walk with tons of personality. For the optimal experience, there’s also going to be VR support that allows you to properly scrutinise Zoink’s handiwork up close. Suffice it to say, we can’t wait to behold it in all of its porcelain glory.

Scheduled for release in Spring 2025, The Midnight Walk will be available on PS5, PlayStation VR2 and PC.

---

1) Project C

Up top, I posited that “there’s no such thing as a sure bet” in gaming. If anything were to dissuade me of that notion, though, it would be this forthcoming collaboration between industry wunderkind Sam Barlow (Her Story and Telling Lies) and Possessor director Brandon Cronenberg.

Vanishingly little is known about Project C at the time of writing, but that’s almost part of its allure. The Steam page description even goes so far as to taunt you with its secretiveness, redacting any text that would be remotely enlightening and leaving just the names of its two creators intact, alongside the tantalizing sentence fragment: “For the first time ever in a video game.”

That’s really all we have to go on, yet it’s more than enough to whet our appetite. Barlow’s interactive fiction offerings have all been stellar and pushed the boundaries of the medium he works in (particularly his latest, Immortality) while Cronenberg can always be depended upon to supply some mind-bending concepts and gnarly ideas.

As if that wasn’t enough, Project C is also backed by Blumhouse’s new gaming division and, based on the quality of Fear the Spotlight alone, their seal of approval carries a lot of weight at the moment. Should the stars all align, this one could be very special indeed.

You can add Project C to your Steam Wishlist here.