Video Games
Demo Now Available for Underwater Psychological Horror Game ‘The Oily Depths’ [Trailer]
It’s time to get a head start scouring the deep in Ryan R. Burns‘ The Oily Depths, which has just had its demo released to Steam. The demo features “Day 1” of the game, granting fans a feel for the mood, mystery, and menace that aims to define the full game.
Inspired by the likes of David Szymanski‘s Iron Lung, The Oily Depths is a short horror game set in a submarine deep beneath the sea (naturally). You must locate and drill for oil, or your corporate overlords will stop your supply of oxygen. Then there’s the other issue of your machinery potentially attracting the attention of something lurking in the deep itself…
As you plumb the depths, you must utilize all your gauges, meters, and monitors to navigate, as your visibility is limited within the sub. Locate the oil extraction targets along the sea floor, and gain a mastery of each part of your equipment until “it’s a part of you.” In addition to avoiding being eaten by whatever it is that’s out there, you’ll also need to deal with potential mishaps in your sub, such as flooding, fires, and that pesky oxygen limit imposed by corporate.
Ryan mentions in the demo announcement that he and his team are looking for feedback on the demo to see what’s working, and what needs tuning. Every comment helps shape the final game, so drop a comment on the Steam forums.
Video Games
Bloody Body Horror Revealed in ‘Stellar Blade: Blood Rain’, Currently in Development [Trailer]
Shift Up has shifted things dramatically from 2024’s action-adventure game Stellar Blade, offering up a body horror bonanza in the newly announced sequel, Stellar Blade: Blood Rain. The sequel is currently early in development, but if the trailer is any indication, players will be in for plenty of body horror.
Continuing the story from the original Stellar Blade, Blood Rain will star a new protagonist named Eve. Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of humanity has fled to a Colony in outer space.
Shift Up had mentioned during a Q&A following its latest earnings presentation last month that development on Blood Rain (which was still unannounced at the time) was progressing smoothly, and was on track to meet their targeted quality standards.
Shift Up stated that with this new title it would be transitioning to a first-party service model, effectively moving away from the restrictions the game experienced with original publisher Sony, which had the game under an exclusivity agreement for the PlayStation 5. “This will allow us to lead marketing strategies that fully reflect the distinctive identity of the Stellar Blade IP, and we expect to communicate the unique appeal of its universe to players more directly and effectively.”
Whether this means that Xbox Players will finally be able to play the original game (or its sequel) is still not clear. Meanwhile, Stellar Blade is reportedly being ported to the Nintendo Switch 2, but no official confirmation has been made.