Darkwood

Darkwood was developed by Acid Wizard Studio, a small team of independent developers based in Poland. It was their debut title and was notable for being entirely crowdfunded through an IndieGoGo campaign before entering Steam Early Access. The game was released fully in 2017.

Unlike many modern horror games that rely on jump scares, Darkwood creates tension through its eerie atmosphere, limited field of vision, and punishing survival mechanics. The map is procedurally generated for each playthrough, ensuring that players never know what lurks in the woods. It also uses a unique top-down perspective rather than a first-person view.

Surviving the night in Darkwood requires players to barricade themselves inside a shelter, usually a ruined house found in the biome. Players must fuel a generator, board up windows, and utilize traps while horrifying creatures attempt to break inside. The game uses an innovative mechanic where making noise or turning on lights attracts the monsters.

Darkwood was initially released for PC platforms via Steam and GOG in 2017. Due to its immense success, it was later ported to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch consoles. The console ports were handled by the publisher Crunching Koalas.