Psychological horror PS1 horror Short horror

Psychopomp

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A free dungeon crawl into the catacombs under every building.

Platforms: PC
Stores: Steam
Price: Free
Rated: Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (98% of 7,730 reviews)
Length: about 1 to 2 hours
Players: 1
Controls: WASD to step and turn on the grid, Q and E to strafe, mouse to pick look, talk, touch or hammer and to click on things.
Made by: Fading Club
Released: 2024

Get it on Steam Psychopomp GOLD on Steam (paid, expanded)

What frightens You climb down into catacombs that, the game says, lie hidden under every building in the world. Grid by grid through dim, low-poly tunnels you meet grotesque, half-human creatures that stare, speak in riddles or block the way, and your only answer besides talking is a claw hammer that bursts them into red mist with a crunch and a scream. The deeper you go, the less the world above seems to make s
Content: gore, body horror, disturbing imagery.

Psychopomp is a short, free psychological horror dungeon crawler. You explore catacombs hidden under every building, step by step through low-poly tunnels, and meet grotesque creatures you can look at, talk to, touch or smash with a hammer.

About Psychopomp

Psychopomp is a 2024 horror game by the small studio Fading Club, released free on Steam. Its premise is a conspiracy made real: there are catacombs under every home and building in the world, stretching down for miles, and everyone has known about them except you. Something calls you to go down and see.

It plays like an old first-person dungeon crawler, moving one square at a time through stone tunnels, but there are no levels, party or stats. At the bottom of the screen sit four actions: look, talk, touch and the hammer. Most of the game is choosing which to use on what you find, from strange guardians to doors and machines, and the hammer is the answer to more problems than it should be.

The fear is in what waits around the next corner. The creatures are lumpy, half-made bodies with too many teeth or faces where faces should not be, drawn in rough, dithered low-poly 3D with heavy colour, and the hammer turns them to red mist with a wet crunch. Between the tunnels the protagonist's grip on what is real slips, and the story above ground stops lining up with the one below.

A run takes about an hour or two. Fading Club later released Psychopomp GOLD, a paid version about twice as long with new and remade levels and more story; the free original is the place to see whether its style suits you. It suits players who liked Iron Lung or Mouthwashing and want something short, grotesque and strange rather than a long survival game.

How to play Psychopomp

Get Psychopomp free from its Steam page and start a new game.
Move through the tunnels one square at a time with WASD, turning with A and D and strafing with Q and E.
When you meet a creature or object, pick look, talk or touch from the bar at the bottom and click on it.
Use the hammer when talking gets you nowhere or something blocks the way, and read the notes you find.
Keep going deeper until you reach the end of the catacombs.

Screenshots

Psychopomp screenshot: a red brick shrine studded with giant teeth and flesh, a robed figure beside it, with the look, talk, touch and hammer bar at the bottom

Psychopomp screenshot: a creature with a human face under a dark mechanical head, arms spread, blocking a stone corridor

Psychopomp screenshot: a dim low-poly stone courtyard lit by a green sky and orange windows

Tips

Try every action on a new creature before reaching for the hammer; some give you what you need only by talking.
Read the notes and the screen menu between areas; they explain where to go next.
Play with sound on; the creatures' noises warn you before you see them.