Static Dread: The Lighthouse

About Static Dread: The Lighthouse

Static Dread: The Lighthouse is a first-person horror game from solarsuit.games, published by Polden Publishing on Steam for Windows and Mac on 6 August 2025. It is also sold DRM-free on GOG, and Games Harbor publishes it on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox. After a global cataclysm the harbor authorities reactivate an ancient lighthouse to keep the seas navigable, and a lone keeper is sent to the island to man it. Far away, his wife and daughter wait for him to come home.

The game runs over 15 days. You mostly look at a room from a fixed view and click on objects or on the way you want to go, much like a point-and-click adventure. Each night the Captain contacts you on the radio, and you help the ships you pick up on the airwaves reach their ports by drawing their route on a navigation map through waypoints, around the dangers marked on the chart. New rules arrive as the days go on: old minefields one night, quarantine areas the next, and ports that only certain kinds of vessels may use.

The lighthouse itself needs looking after. You switch breakers back on, keep the generator running and keep the antenna working, and the breakdowns come more often as the days pass. If you fall into darkness the keeper falls asleep and misses the day, and the ships at sea pay for it. You also keep your own supplies up, with some fishing when there is a spare moment. Locals come to the door, and what you say to them can help or hinder you, though the rule is that you never let them in.

The horror is slow and close rather than built on jump scares. Mariners report creatures beyond the reach of science, ships drift back with their crews gone, and the villagers whisper prayers to sea gods and perform rituals to raise the dead. Inside the house, symbols appear on the walls and dark shapes gather in the shadows, and by the last days the keeper is seeing things that are not there. Muted blues and greens and hand-drawn watercolour stills of the people you meet set the mood. The game has multiple endings.

HowLongToBeat lists about 6 hours for the main story and 12.5 hours to see everything. It is rated ESRB Teen and USK 16.

How to play Static Dread: The Lighthouse

1. Move through the lighthouse by clicking on the direction you want to go and on the objects you want to use; most rooms are seen from a fixed view.
2. When the Captain contacts you on the radio at night, identify the ship and open the navigation map.
3. Draw the ship's route through waypoints to its destination, keeping clear of the dangers marked on the chart.
4. Follow each night's new rules, such as avoiding minefields or quarantine areas and sending certain kinds of vessels only to certain ports.
5. Keep the breakers on, the generator running and the antenna working so the lighthouse never goes dark.
6. When visitors come to the door, pick your replies with care, and keep your own supplies up, fishing when you have time.

Tips

• Stay in the light: if you fall into darkness the keeper falls asleep and misses the day, which hurts the ships at sea.
• Breakdowns get more frequent as the days go on, so check the breakers, generator and antenna between ships.
• The routing rules pile up night after night; read each new rule before you start drawing.
• What you say to the locals can help or hinder you, and the standing rule is never to let them in.

Questions