The Thing Beneath

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Five teenagers, one abandoned island, one night.

Platforms: Browser, PC
Stores: itch.io
Price: Pay what you want
Rated: 4.5 out of 5 on itch.io (105 ratings)
Length: about 20 minutes (makers' estimate)
Players: 1
Controls: First person; its makers recommend a controller.
Made by: Studio Laaya, Reaktori, Axel Kulomaa and Rong
Released: 2026

What frightens Five teenagers camp for a night on an abandoned island, and as darkness falls they learn why nobody stays there: the dark woods, a cellar with occult papers and bloodstains, and sudden scares in the style of an 80s horror film. Players single out its jumpscares.
Content: jumpscares, blood, alcohol and drug use, strong language.

The Thing Beneath is a free, twenty-minute horror game in the style of an 80s teen horror film, played in first person with PS1-style graphics. Five friends set out to camp and party on an abandoned island, and as night falls they find out why nobody stays there.

About The Thing Beneath

The Thing Beneath was made in 64 hours at the Assembly Game Jam 2026 by Studio Laaya and Reaktori, with Axel Kulomaa and Rong, and entered in the Haunted PS1 Summer Camp Jam as well, which is why it leans on the clichés of 80s horror. A Director's Cut followed in August 2026. It is built in Godot and plays in the browser on itch.io, with a Windows download; its makers say no generative AI was used.

The set-up is the one horror fans know by heart: five teenagers take a boat to an abandoned island to camp, drink and enjoy themselves. The island's emptiness is no accident. You walk the camp in first person, talk with the others, and do the small jobs of the evening while the night closes in, until the reason nobody stays there starts to show.

The look is low-poly PS1 with soft, smeared textures and a worn VHS-style title, and the cast is voiced, which players often praise. Its tone is knowingly campy, with jokes between the friends, but it keeps its dark woods, its cellar of occult papers and its sudden scares serious; players name one jumpscare in particular that made them jump.

It suits players who want a short B-movie scare night in one sitting, and anyone who likes Haunted PS1 jam games and 80s summer camp horror.

How to play The Thing Beneath

Open the itch.io page and press Run game, or download the Windows build; plug in a controller if you have one.
Walk the campsite in first person and talk to your friends.
Follow the evening's small tasks to move the story along.
Explore the island as night falls, and look for what it is hiding.

Screenshots

The Thing Beneath cover: the title in dripping red letters over a dim forest, framed like a worn old video tape

The Thing Beneath screenshot: low-poly April stands in the night forest at camp beside a friend in a leather jacket, her line 'Yeah, whatever.' in subtitles

The Thing Beneath screenshot: occult papers with a pentagram pinned to a dark brick cellar wall, a heap of cloth on the floor

The Thing Beneath screenshot: a dark brick corridor opening onto a stairwell, blood smeared on the wall above something lying on the floor

The Thing Beneath screenshot: a wooden rowing boat beached on the misty island shore under pine trees

Tips

Play with a controller, as its makers suggest, and with sound on: the cast is voiced.
Look around the camp between tasks; there are notes and details that explain the island.
It takes about twenty minutes, so play it in one go with the lights off.

Questions

How long is The Thing Beneath?

About twenty minutes, according to its makers.

Is The Thing Beneath free?

Yes. It plays free in the browser on itch.io, and the downloads are name your own price.

Is The Thing Beneath scary or funny?

Both. It is a campy take on 80s teen horror with banter between the friends, but it is built around dark places and jumpscares that players say got them.