Play it here: https://sir-mr-bear.itch.io/seven-in-the-woods
(cross-posting my devlog here since this seemed like the right spot)
Seven in the Woods is a short atmospheric horror demo — no jump scares, just three people stranded at a mountain villa during a power outage, trying to get a backup generator running before something in the woods finds them first.
Seven in the Woods has been in the works for a while now and the first demo is finally up.
The idea started as a story me and my friends came up with, set around a villa in the woods — Seven in the Woods, seven people, though the demo only introduces the first three you'll meet: Yasin, Torbat, and Masiha. They get separated the moment things go wrong, and have to make their own calls about what to do next.
A few things I was deliberate about:
- No jump scares. Nothing popping out at the screen to startle you. The dread builds from isolation, sound, and the slow realization that you're being hunted — not from cheap shocks.
- You're not on rails. Once the group splits up in the forest, you can actually wander — check on your friend fixing the car, mess with the guy stuck behind the glass, or just push forward alone into the dark. None of it is required, all of it changes how alone you feel.
- The scares are earned, not thrown at you. Stamina management during the chase, sound design that isolates you, a slow pan at the end that trusts the player to notice something's wrong before it's spelled out.
