Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals

About Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals

Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals is a multiplayer horror game by Glowstick Entertainment, the makers of Dark Deception. It came out on Steam on November 2, 2020, reached the Epic Games Store in June 2023, and arrived on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on May 23, 2025. Players take on the roles of monsters and mortals from the Dark Deception universe, and from other horror games, and battle each other in mazes, some familiar from Dark Deception and many new: a hotel, a school, a hedge maze, sewers and a circus among them.

A match drops you into a maze filled with purple soul shards. You run around collecting them while traps and computer-controlled monsters and bosses try to wreck you, and you can fight other players with a basic attack and a special one. Energy builds as you go and unlocks your character's own ability, from teleporting to stealing shards to a heavy attack. Item boxes give powers, health, traps and status effects.

The store lists three main modes. In Maze Escape, four mortals must collect enough shards to summon a portal and escape while two monsters try to stop or kill them before time runs out. Shard Mayhem is monsters only: six players compete to hold the most shards and steal them by attacking each other. In Soul Collection, six mortals compete for shards, and after each wave Malak comes for the one with the fewest and takes their soul, turning them into a monster who hunts the rest until one mortal is left. The game picks the map, mode and your side once a lobby fills; you choose which monster or mortal you play.

It is a horror party game more than a slow scare. The monsters grin with bloody teeth and lunge at the camera, but the mood is competitive and quick, closer to a brawl than to the creeping chases of Dark Deception. Paid add-ons bring in characters and maps from other horror games, among them Monstrum and The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters, and the House of Ashes chapter adds a Sumerian temple map with a vampire boss.

The player base is small now, and recent player reviews complain of long waits for a match. A player review from June 2026 says a solo mode against bots was added, and the Xbox store lists single player. It suits groups of friends who liked Dark Deception's chases, and players who enjoy asymmetrical games like Dead by Daylight in a shorter, sillier form.

How to play Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals

1. Buy it on Steam, the Epic Games Store, PlayStation or Xbox; online play on console needs PlayStation Plus or a Game Pass plan that includes online play.
2. Join a public match, make a private one and share its invite code with friends, or try the solo mode against bots.
3. Once the lobby fills, the game picks the map, the mode and whether you start as a monster or a mortal; choose your character.
4. As a mortal, collect shards and stay away from the monsters; as a monster, hunt the mortals and steal their shards.
5. Open item boxes for powers, health and traps, and spend the energy you gather on your character's special ability.

Tips

• Agatha's ability teleports her to the player with the lowest health and lands a hit, so as a mortal keep your health up when one is in the match.
• Nikson can generate extra shards, which makes him a strong pick for mortals racing to open the portal in Maze Escape.
• Trap Time fills the map with harmful traps for a minute and hurts every player, so get clear of corridors when it starts.
• Shards can be stolen by attacking or killing their holder, so in Shard Mayhem a big lead makes you a target.

Questions