The Deadseat

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A night drive, a handheld game, and something trying to get into the back seat.

Platforms: PC
Price: Paid
Rated: Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (97% of 672 reviews)
Players: 1
Controls: WASD to move your view around the car, left click to use, right click to put the handheld away (as shown on screen)
Made by: Curious Fox Sox
Released: 2025

What frightens You sit in the back seat of your parents' car on a long night drive home while they argue, playing a handheld game that starts to mirror the real world. Things you collect in the game appear beside you, and you need them, because a monster is trying to get into the back seat: a tall figure stands by the dark roadside, a grinning face looms out of the black, and you must turn from side to side to d
Content: violence, family conflict.

The Deadseat is a short horror game by Curious Fox Sox in which you ride in the back seat of your parents' car on a long drive home. As they fight, you play a handheld game that begins to mirror reality: what you collect in it is sent to your seat, and you use it to hold off a monster trying to get in.

About The Deadseat

The Deadseat is an indie horror game by Curious Fox Sox, released on Steam for Windows in May 2025. It is set entirely in the back seat of a car on the drive home from grandma's, which takes an unexpected detour into the night.

You are a child in the back. Your parents cannot get along, and your hand-held game is your only escape. Then the game begins to mirror real life. Supplies you collect on its little pixel screen are sent to the back seat, and you need them, because a deadly monstrosity wants to join you there. You switch between playing the handheld and turning to watch each side of the car, juggling your supplies to defend all sides. In this car, as the store page puts it, there is only onwards to drive and nowhere to run.

The story deals with escapism and a difficult childhood: you cannot ignore the fighting no matter how deep you go into your game, and a voice in the game says you can escape to somewhere better. The main campaign is short. After it, Hard Mode continues the story with one life, a faster monster and remixed levels, and Challenge Mode offers eight presets or custom settings, with hidden lore to unlock.

It suits players who like tense, single-room horror where you defend a small space from a fixed spot, like Five Nights at Freddy's, and who want a low-priced game they can finish in an evening.

How to play The Deadseat

Start the drive and pick up the handheld game in the back seat.
Play the handheld game to collect supplies; they are sent to the seat beside you.
Put the handheld away and look around the car with WASD to see where the monster is coming from.
Use your supplies with left click to defend each side of the car.
Keep switching between the game and the car until the drive ends, then try Hard Mode or Challenge Mode.

Screenshots

The handheld's screen showing a pixel-art game with pine trees, a small character and a car

Looking out of the car at night: a tree by the road and a tall red figure standing at the roadside

The back seat lit red, with a wooden crate on the seat and the handheld glowing in the middle

A dim grinning face with wide eyes and an open mouth looming out of the dark

Tips

Do not stay in the handheld game too long; check every side of the car between runs.
Keep a few supplies in reserve rather than spending them all at once.
Listen to the story between the scares; the parents' fight and the voice in the game are the point.
Hard Mode gives you only one life and a faster monster, so learn the main campaign first.

Questions

How long is The Deadseat?

Its maker calls the main campaign short, and a player review puts it at about an hour. Hard Mode and Challenge Mode add more.

Is The Deadseat like FNAF?

Players compare it to Five Nights at Freddy's because you stay in one place and defend it from something trying to get in. Here you watch the sides of a car and fight back with items from a handheld game, rather than using cameras and doors.

Is The Deadseat free?

No. It is a low-priced paid game on Steam.

What platforms is The Deadseat on?

Windows PC, on Steam.