Surreal horror Short horror Horror walking simulators

0_abyssalSomewhere

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Wander a sunken realm of shades and old regrets.

Platforms: PC, Mac
Stores: itch.io
Price: Pay what you want
Rated: 4.7 out of 5 on itch.io (547 ratings)
Length: about half an hour (itch.io average session)
Players: 1
Made by: nonoise

What frightens A lone wanderer crosses a dark, drowned realm of grey arcades, bridges of white light and figures made of shadow and glare. It is quiet and oppressive more than violent, broken by loud sounds and a few sudden moments the maker warns about.
Content: loud sounds, a few sudden, jumpscare-like moments.

0_abyssalSomewhere is a short, surreal third-person horror exploration game by nonoise. You walk through an abyssal sunken realm of grainy, monochrome ruins and light, facing the shades of others and the memories and regrets they left behind. It is a free or pay-what-you-want download for Windows and macOS, and takes about half an hour.

About 0_abyssalSomewhere

0_abyssalSomewhere is an experimental horror game by the solo maker nonoise, nominated at the AMaze festival in 2019 and offered on itch.io for whatever you want to pay. Its page is sparse and poetic: facing other's shades, strolling through an abyssal place, the memories, pains and regrets of the old sunken realm. It is labelled as a first entry.

You follow a lone figure, seen from behind, through a world that looks half drowned and half burned out. Long stone arcades run off into darkness over sandy ground, a bridge is strung with lines of white light, pale glowing shapes stand along it, and in one stretch a heavy rain washes the whole screen near white. The pictures are grainy and smeared, close to black and white, so that shapes come out of the murk slowly.

There is little explanation of what any of it means. The horror comes from the place itself: its scale, its silence, and the shades that you meet along the way. The maker warns of some loud sounds and a few slightly jumpscary moments, mostly in the rainy part, but says they are sudden rather than scary and that there are no excessive jumpscares.

A run takes about half an hour. Windows has 64-bit and 32-bit builds; the macOS build currently may not work after you click New Game, according to the maker's note.

It suits players who like short, wordless, art-led horror where atmosphere and strangeness carry the experience, and who are happy not to have every image explained.

How to play 0_abyssalSomewhere

Download the build for your system from the itch.io page, paying what you like or nothing.
Unzip it and start the game, then choose New Game.
Lead the wanderer through the sunken realm, following the arcades, bridges and lights onward.
Face the shades you meet on the way and keep going until the journey ends, about half an hour later.

Screenshots

0_abyssalSomewhere cover: a tiny figure stands in a vast grey haze above the title written in faded serif letters

0_abyssalSomewhere screenshot: glowing white figures stand along a dark bridge strung with lines of light

0_abyssalSomewhere screenshot: the wanderer faces a shadowy shape in a tunnel as streaks of white light burst around it

0_abyssalSomewhere screenshot: a beaked figure with a long pole stands in pale, washed-out rain

Tips

Play with headphones but not too loud: the maker warns of some loud sounds.
The sudden moments are mostly in the rainy part, so be ready when the rain starts.
Use the 32-bit Windows build if the 64-bit one will not run on an older machine.
On a Mac, the maker notes the game may not work after New Game; the older 32-bit macOS build is also offered.