Co-op and multiplayer horror Horror puzzle Horror escape Analog horror

Storebound

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Escape a cursed megastore with your friends, before it makes you shop forever.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Stores: Steam, Epic
Price: Paid
Rated: Mostly Positive on Steam (78% of 1,512 reviews); 4.53 of 5 stars from 45 ratings on the PlayStation Store
Length: 5 to 7 hours
Players: 1 to 3
Controls: Keyboard and mouse or controller (partial controller support on PC); a key to talk on the walkie-talkie and one to switch it off
Made by: Embers
Released: 2026

No. 29 of the liminal space horror games · No. 20 of the mall horror games

Get it on Steam Epic Games Store PlayStation Store Xbox

What frightens Trapped after hours in a cursed megastore between dream and nightmare, one to three friends search the aisles for clues while gaunt crawling things and the store's 'assistance' hunt anyone they hear; a sanity system can turn you against your friends.
Content: flashing lights, violence, torture, blood and gore.

Storebound is a co-op puzzle horror game by Embers for one to three players, on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S with cross-play. You and your friends are trapped in a cursed megastore caught between dream and nightmare, and must search for clues, solve its twisted puzzles and avoid its lurking things across a six-episode campaign of five to seven hours.

About Storebound

Storebound is made and published by Embers, a studio in Strasbourg that also made Murky Divers. It opened in Early Access on PC in November 2025, and its 1.0 release, which completed the campaign, came out on July 16, 2026. On October 1, 2026 it reached PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and the Microsoft Store, with cross-play between all of them. It's a co-op horror campaign in six episodes, five to seven hours in all.

You and up to two friends are shoppers trapped after closing in a vast megastore, a liminal place between dream and nightmare where the signs still promise bargains and point to the bathroom and the living room displays. As the campaign goes on, the store moves you to a different era and area, with new puzzles and new things living in it. Later areas get stranger: a meat counter overgrown with red flesh, a hall of neon and glitching WELCOME letters.

The play is teamwork. You search the aisles for items and clues, talk over proximity voice chat, and split up with walkie-talkies to call out code sequences from across a department or guide a friend through a maze on the security monitors. When the lights go out, the store sends out its 'assistance' for shoppers who need it: cut your radio and go silent, or be found. Traps and aberrations gnaw at your sanity, and a lost mind may turn on its friends.

What sets it apart from most friend-group horror is how much it leans on talking. GameCritix, which gave it 4 out of 5, found it comes into its own with a group, and liked how a friend in another aisle becomes just a voice echoing through the store. You can play alone, but most of the puzzles are built around splitting up.

The characters are cartoonish, but the store warns of violence, torture, gore and strong flashing lights, and ESRB rates it Mature for blood and gore. It suits groups who liked Escape the Backrooms or Labyrinthine and want more puzzles and a story in their co-op horror.

How to play Storebound

Buy Storebound on Steam, Epic, PS5 or Xbox and start an episode alone or with one or two friends online. Steam players switch to the cross-play branch to join friends on other systems.
Search the store for items and clues, talking over proximity voice chat.
Split up and use walkie-talkies to share codes and guide each other through puzzles.
Go silent and hide when the lights go out and the store's 'assistance' comes looking.
Keep your sanity up, solve each area's puzzles and find the way to the next part of the store.

Screenshots

Storebound screenshot: a pale crawling creature holding a lamp comes across a dim store atrium as the player holds a walkie-talkie, with FIND THE EXIT scrawled on the wall

Storebound screenshot: three cartoonish shoppers in a dark store aisle, one holding out both hands and another pointing, under a gold PRESENT sign

Storebound screenshot: the empty two-storey megastore at night with escalators, Bathroom and PRESENT signs, a potted palm and a lone tricycle

Storebound screenshot: a security room with camera monitors and a maze on a screen, a walkie-talkie in hand and objectives listed

Storebound screenshot: a machinery room with four boilers labelled W to Z, coloured pipes on the floor and an objective to power the generator

Storebound screenshot: a frightened shopper crouches in a meat aisle overgrown with red flesh under a CUTS sign

Storebound screenshot: a grinning figure made of meat stands in a red flesh-lined corridor, seen in first person with a walkie-talkie in hand

Tips

Turn your walkie-talkie off when something is near: the store may be listening.
Divide the work: one player reads the clue, another works the puzzle.
Watch for strobe warnings if you are sensitive to flashing lights.

Questions

How many players can play Storebound?

One to three, online.

How long is Storebound?

The campaign of six episodes runs five to seven hours, according to its store page.

Can you play Storebound solo?

Yes, it supports single-player as well as co-op.

Does Storebound have cross-play?

Yes. Since October 1, 2026 players on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S can play together. On Steam you switch to a separate cross-play branch, PS5 needs PS Plus for online play, and Xbox consoles need Game Pass to play online.

Is Storebound on PS5 and Xbox?

Yes, it came to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and the Microsoft Store on October 1, 2026, priced at $9.99 there.