Image credit: Ice-Pick Lodge

Darkwood 2 is now live on Steam, and it’s ready to test your nerves!, This standalone sequel, developed by Ice-Pick Lodge and published by Hooded Horse, drops you into the eerie landscape around the dying Aral Sea.

You’ll spend your days scavenging, crafting and exploring, build your shelter before nightfall, and fight to stay alive as the forest’s corruption creeps in.

It’s tense, atmospheric, and full of surprises!

Core Facts and Platforms

Darkwood 2 is coming soon to Steam, although the release date hasn’t been announced yet. It’s a single-player game with full controller support, Steam Achievements, and Steam Cloud, making it easy to play your way and keep your progress safe.

Get ready to dive into a haunting world of survival horror, built for solo play!

What’s New?

Darkwood 2 takes place a few years after the first game, in a haunting Aral Sea setting during the post-Soviet 1990s. The strange anomaly has spread, turning deserts, marshes, and waterways into dangerous zones.

Darkwood 2 - Official Announcement Trailer | ID@Xbox Fall 2025 Showcase

You’ll need to scavenge for supplies, craft tools, and fight off terrifying creatures. What’s interesting, there are no quest markers, so you’ll have to trust your instincts to survive and find your way.

Gameplay Pillars

Darkwood 2 builds its gameplay around a tense and unforgiving day/night loop. During the day, you explore the open world, scavenging for useful items, gathering resources, and preparing for the dangers ahead. You’ll search abandoned buildings, hidden paths, and strange locations to find materials for crafting and survival. But when night falls, everything changes… you must defend your base using traps, barricades, and homemade weapons to keep the horrors at bay.

Darkwood 2 | Image credit: Ice-Pick Lodge

You’ll meet strange characters who speak different languages, and your choices in these encounters can lead to branching paths and emergent storytelling. As the anomaly spreads, the world becomes more dangerous, forcing you to decide: hide, fight, or use special concoctions to mutate and gain new powers.

Every decision matters in this eerie survival experience!

Brand and Market

The original Darkwood was made by Poland’s Acid Wizard Studio, but Darkwood 2 is now in the hands of Ice-Pick Lodge, with Hooded Horse as the publisher. This sequel fits well among today’s survival-horror sandboxes, where tension, limited resources, and unpredictable storytelling keep players on edge.

It’s designed for those who enjoy deep atmosphere, tough choices, and the thrill of surviving in a world that doesn’t hold your hand. Sounds great!

What to Watch Next

There’s still a lot to discover about Darkwood 2, so it’s worth keeping an eye on what’s coming next. Look out for new trailers with release dates, updates about other platforms besides PC, and deeper info on how the day and night defense system works. Fans are also waiting to learn more about how progression will shape your survival.

For the latest news and updates, be sure to follow the official developer blogs and check the Steam page regularly. Don’t miss a moment as Darkwood 2 is just getting started, and the next reveal could change everything!