An existential horror game in which you are tasked with keeping a sleeper colony ship intact. No enemies or NPCs share the ship with you - only creaking metal echoes and endless dark. Overcome random events, system failures, and the downward spiral of your sanity to see your mission through.
All Reviews:
Very Positive (67) - 98% of the 67 user reviews for this game are positive.
Release Date:
Feb 22, 2023

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Early Access Game

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Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“From start to finish, Endless Dark has been a collaborative effort with a small community - the events, narrative, artwork and more have all been inspired and helped by the efforts of our friends. Most of our random events were inspired by or even solicited from our friends, and the creation process has been very rewarding as a result. People love to see ideas they came up with showing up in the next build. The more people we hear from, the better we can make our game.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“4-5 months.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“We plan to include additional events and narrative tweaks, and plan to include changes to the UI as driven by user feedback. We plan to make the game as accessible as possible during our EA development window, based on community feedback.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“3 narrative arcs, 90 random events and 1 bot are currently playable. The game has sound and music, 12 insanity events, and 50,000 words of total narrative.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Yes - the full release will have a modest price increase to reflect the community collaboration.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We already have an established submission process for people who want their events or ideas included in the game, inclusion in the credits, and community discussions.”
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About This Game

A refreshing twist on roguelite and storytelling, Endless Dark is a psychological horror game about the pressures of monotony and the purpose of existence.

You, the Custodian, are a sentient machine onboard a sleeper colony ship, charged with keeping it intact. No combat, enemies, or NPCs await you - only a myriad of system failures and the decay of your own sanity as you whittle away the decades in isolation. Hundreds of story events and a deep narrative keep each iteration of you intrigued. Customize your own chassis, repair the ship, and keep your passengers alive long enough to win... something. Can you uncover the intent behind your own creation before you slip into robo-dementia?

STORY MODE

The ship is shadowy in more ways than one. Ancient agreements and long-forgotten understandings conspire against you to keep you in your place. Doing your work. For however long the long-absent conspirators wanted.

Explore a deep narrative that evolves over multiple playthroughs, and choose how you deal with each new revelation. Not all truths will set you free, and some things are better left unsaid.

ENDLESS MODE

For a more mechanical challenge, try the optional endless mode. In this mode, the only objective is to propel the ship as far as you can before you inevitably lose your passengers, your mind, or both. Contend with the confusing oddities of the ship and its myriad catastrophes with a specially written CRISIS CYCLE. Three impending crises, promising grievous and irreparable damage, will be shown to you. Use your intuition, born of your intimate awareness of your vessel, to discern which two crises are lies, and which one is the true threat! Choose wisely - the Crisis will not be gentle if you fail to prepare for it.

PLAYABLE...

Endless Dark has been designed from the start to be eminently playable for Custodians with their own histories. The game has a specially chosen color palate to be visible for numerous kinds of colorblindness, even full monochromacy. Large, clear text makes messages readable at a glance. All Custodians need only bring their willingness to do, explore, and grow.

Busy Custodians also need not fear; distinct, bite-sized turns with effortless autosave allows for drop-in, drop-out play.

Control things your way; the game is fully playable with a gamepad only, keyboard only, or mouse and keyboard.

...AND REPLAYABLE

With over 200,000 words of events, spread over dozens of dilemmas, and a finely tuned Director that applies just the right amount of pressure, Endless Dark is designed to never present the same situation twice. Fight and overcome, or struggle and succumb, the next time will always be different - especially due to your own actions. Your tiniest victories and littlest defeats alike are recorded and remembered. They will remain in subsequent games, to help or haunt you.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

Depictions of psychosis and mental illness. Nightmare sequences. Deaths of cryogenically frozen humans.

System Requirements

Windows
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Vista, 7, 10, 11
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Hardware
    • Storage: 400 MB available space
    • Sound Card: Any
    Recommended:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    Minimum:
    • OS: Ubuntu 18+
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Hardware
    • Storage: 400 MB available space
    • Sound Card: Any
    Recommended:

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