Kholat

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Follow the Dyatlov Pass hikers into the snow with only a map and a compass.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Price: Paid
Rated: Mixed on Steam (66% of 6,917 reviews); Metacritic 64 on PC
Length: 4 to 6 hours (maker's estimate)
Players: 1
Made by: IMGN.PRO
Released: 2015

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What frightens You cross a frozen valley in the Ural Mountains alone, at night and in snowstorms, following the trail of the nine hikers who died at Dyatlov Pass in 1959. You find your way only by paper map and compass, read scattered notes about what happened, and must keep away from glowing, shadow-like creatures that hunt you through the woods.
Content: based on real deaths.

Kholat is a first-person horror exploration game from IMGN.PRO inspired by the Dyatlov Pass incident of 1959, when nine hikers died in the Ural Mountains. You wander a large snowy valley with a map and a compass, piece the story together from notes, and avoid shadowy creatures that hunt you. Sean Bean narrates.

About Kholat

Kholat is a horror exploration game made by the Polish studio IMGN.PRO and released on PC in June 2015, later on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Switch. It takes its name from Kholat Syakhl, the mountain where nine experienced hikers died in the winter of 1959 in what became known as the Dyatlov Pass incident. The Russian investigators closed the case saying "a compelling unknown force" caused the deaths, and the game builds its own story out of that gap. Sean Bean narrates.

You play in first person in a wide, non-linear valley of forests, frozen lakes, caves and abandoned buildings. You find your way with a paper map and a compass, picking out landmarks such as an abandoned church, a cosmodrome and old campsites. Notes scattered through the valley give coordinates that lead to further clues, and piece by piece they tell you more about the hikers and those who came after them.

The horror is mostly in being lost. Snowstorms cut visibility to a few metres, the forest at night is nearly black, and the silence is broken by wind and strange sounds. Glowing, shadow-like creatures move through parts of the valley, and if one finds you, you have to run, because there is nothing to fight with.

Kholat suits players who like slow, atmospheric walks with a real mystery behind them, and who do not mind getting lost on purpose. Players are split on it: some praise the setting and sound, others found the navigation frustrating and the story thin. If you want a guided story or combat, look elsewhere.

How to play Kholat

Open your map and match it against the landmarks around you to work out where you are.
Use the compass to keep a heading toward the next coordinates or place marked on the map.
Pick up the notes you find; their coordinates point you to the next clues.
Head for the next set of coordinates and keep exploring new parts of the valley.
When a glowing shadow creature comes after you, run and break its line of sight; you cannot fight it.

Screenshots

Kholat screenshot: an old wooden building in the snow with blue lights glowing at its windows

Kholat screenshot: glowing human-shaped figures running through a dark snowy forest

Kholat screenshot: a lit tent and a campfire in the snow among dark trees

Kholat screenshot: a cave with roots on the walls and a burning light in the dark

Tips

Walk slowly through storms and stop to check the compass often; it is easy to walk in circles.
Note big landmarks like the cosmodrome, the church and the lakes on the map so you can find your way back.
Play with headphones; sound warns you when something is near.
Expect to get lost: the game is built around finding your own way.