DEATH IN UNISON

Rate it

Run a prison of supernatural killers with a partner you can only reach by walkie-talkie.

Platforms: PC
Price: Paid
Rated: Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (95% of 782 reviews)
Players: 1-2 (online co-op)
Made by: Blank Dream Studios
Released: 2024

What frightens You work the night administration of a hidden island prison full of murderers, many with supernatural powers. Each day the power cuts out and inmates come for you while you race through your duties; each has its own rule, such as Chains, who you hear dragging his chains and must hide from by switching off the lights. In co-op the two of you sit in different rooms, only one of you may have the swit
Content: jumpscares, voice chat required in co-op, murder and mutilation themes.

DEATH IN UNISON is a first-person co-op horror game by Blank Dream Studios. Two players, each in a separate room of a secret island prison, must talk each other through their duties over walkie-talkies while power outages let supernatural inmates loose; it can also be played alone.

About DEATH IN UNISON

DEATH IN UNISON came out on Steam in August 2024 from Blank Dream Studios. It is set at the Corton Island Institute of Rehabilitation, a prison hidden in the Pacific Ocean that holds society's most notorious criminals, many with supernatural abilities. You join its administration and must meet your employer's expectations, and failure is not tolerated.

In co-op, each player sits in a different room with different consoles, a computer and a timer, and the only link between you is an in-game walkie-talkie; the makers say voice chat is an essential part of play. Duties come in fast, from processing prisoner records to working sector panels, and many need information only the other player can see. Reviewers compare it to Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes: one of you reads, the other acts, and spelling an inmate's name over a bad radio connection becomes part of the panic.

The horror comes with the daily power outages. Inmates get loose and each has a rule you learn from the prison database: Chains is nearly blind and deaf but kills anyone he can find, so when you hear chains dragging the lights must go off, and only one of you may have the switch. Players describe it as stressful and full of sudden scares, a Five Nights at Freddy's with a partner. Between days, messages on your computer hint at ways to hack the prison network and learn its dark history, an optional layer some players spend half their time on.

It can be played entirely solo as an administrator alone in an office. It suits pairs of friends who liked The Past Within or Lethal Company's radio chatter, and FNAF players who want that pressure shared.

How to play DEATH IN UNISON

Buy DEATH IN UNISON on Steam (Windows).
Choose solo, or invite a friend for co-op; each player starts in a separate room.
Use the walkie-talkie to tell your partner what you see on your screens and carry out each duty before the timer runs out.
Read the prison database to learn each inmate's rule and how to keep them away when the power fails.
Survive each day's outage, then check your computer between days for messages and hacking clues about the prison's past.

Screenshots

DEATH IN UNISON: the prison database on an old monitor, showing the inmate Chains and notes on his behaviour

DEATH IN UNISON: the dark administration desk with a prisoner record, a directory screen and a countdown timer

DEATH IN UNISON: an A Sector control panel with red and blue cell lights next to barred windows

DEATH IN UNISON: a barred cell window in a dim room with a timer on the wall

Tips

Agree on short, clear call-outs with your partner before you start; spelling names over the radio takes time you do not have.
Read each inmate's database entry closely, since the way to survive them is in their behaviour notes.
Listen hard during outages; some inmates, like Chains, give themselves away by sound.
Look at the messages on your computer between days if you want the story and the ending; they are easy to miss.

Questions

Can you play DEATH IN UNISON solo?

Yes. The makers say the job can be done entirely solo, as an administrator alone in an office.

Does DEATH IN UNISON need voice chat?

In co-op, yes. The makers say voice chat is a vital mechanic, since the two players are in separate rooms and talk through walkie-talkies.

Is DEATH IN UNISON like Five Nights at Freddy's?

Players often compare it to a co-op FNAF: you stay at your post through timed days, the power fails and you keep killers away by managing the lights and consoles.

What platforms is DEATH IN UNISON on?

Windows PC, through Steam.