Fans of horror who tuned into the Gamescom coverage this week might have caught a tantalizing preview of Dark Fracture, an indie psychological horror title currently in development by Twisted II Studio and slated for release sometime in 2021.
The five-minute video includes never-before-seen gameplay footage from the upcoming early access version of the game, during which viewers catch a glimpse of a rundown facility complete with gurneys, a morgue, and an overall oppressive atmosphere where the primary source of lighting is often a flickering lighter that has a habit of extinguishing itself from time to time.
In addition to the morgue-like body decomposition facility, the Dark Fracture walkthrough gives the audience a brief peek at an unsettling netherworld environment replete with strange tentacled humanoid forms and haunting sound effects. The developers have stated that they took inspiration from well-known worlds of horror, and the influence of games like Visage and Frictional Games' Amnesia, as well as Swiss artist H.R. Giger is very evident.
The video’s narrator also reveals that Dark Fracture will be released on next-gen consoles and will offer 4K high-quality graphics, particle effects, as well as lighting and ray tracing. The developers are focused on creating an immersive atmosphere that will appeal to even the most avid horror fans. In this vein, much attention has been given to monsters, environments, textures, assets, and the soundscapes that will accompany players on their journey.
Dark Fracture is a first-person psychological horror game set in the late 90s in an isolated forested region of the rural United States. Players take on the role of Edward, an employee at a local body farm, a facility that documents the way that bodies decompose under various conditions for use by scientists and law enforcement.
This would be a taxing job for even the most mentally stable worker, but Edward comes to his new place of employment already carrying some psychological damage. As odd events begin to occur at the body farm one night, Edward has to come to grips with what’s happening around him and figure out if it’s merely his mind playing tricks on him or if he has stumbled onto something truly horrific.
The level of detail, variety of environments, and depth revealed in this early access walkthrough footage of Dark Fracture is particularly impressive because the team behind it is a two-man operation, and this is their first game. Early access is scheduled to begin on February 28, 2021.
Dark Fracture will be released in 2021 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
Source: itch.io