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Sons of the Forest co-dev reveals new “true hardcore” horror game

Obelisk Studio, a co-development team with survival horror hits like Sons of the Forest under its belt, is now working on Displacement.

Displacement horror game: A man wearing a white headset and netting around his head stares ahead, his eyes showing through the veil as an orange light glows beneath his face

Displacement isn’t here just yet, but it’s an upcoming horror game we should all have on our radar. The team behind the spooky new game is Obelisk Studio, an outsourcing art and game studio known for its work on other survival hits like Sons of the Forest and various beloved gems spanning all genres such as Dota 2 and Call of Duty.

I loved Sons of the Forest, and Displacement seems to be in a similar vein of horror games as Endnight’s 9/10 survival entry. Obelisk describes its debut game as a “psychological action-horror game that explores the dark side of human nature.” Just as The Forest sequel draws on its eerie environment to engulf us in terror, Displacement does too, with a setting in an “alternative near-future history.”

The developer hopes to create “an atmosphere of isolation and madness” in Displacement, blending its unsettling environment with bursts of gory violence. While we don’t have a first look at the combat in action or a more in-depth overview of the gameplay itself, we can expect “intense” melee combat. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for improvised weapons like those in Sons of the Forest, such as the guitar or the putter.

Displacement concept art showing an abandoned building's interior plagued by graffiti and broken furniture

Obelisk has yet to reveal more about the seemingly action-packed horror game itself, but the team says we have a “true hardcore horror game” to look forward to. Along with “top-tier developers and designers,” Obelisk is working with specialists in “the psychology of extreme survival”  to try to create “the most authentic psychological horror experience possible.”

The studio also shares that it has recently received two million dollars to help kickstart the ambitious project, straight from The Games Fund. I’m not quite sure what to think of Displacement yet myself but as a fan of both The Forest and its sequel, I’m excited to see what Obelisk means when it says that its game ends up “literally driving players crazy” with its “unknown terror” and “unspeakable violence.”

While you wait to learn more about Displacement, you can take a look at a few of our other favorite survival games to play in the meantime. If you want something new to look forward to, you can also browse through our roundup of the best-looking upcoming PC games to keep in mind.

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