NICOSIA, Cyprus – Nov. 30, 2023 – During today’s PC Gaming Show, indie developer Monumental Collab and publisher CRITICAL REFLEX revealed a new trailer officially announcing Drowned Lake, a story-driven horror fishing game with survival elements in development for PC. Pilot a boat into the heart of the forest and investigate its ominous waters to fish out the terrifying secrets hidden in the darkness. Unravel the truth in a mystery told from three unique perspectives, inspired by the legends and nightmares of Brazilian folklore and influenced with a retro VHS aesthetic.
Deep in Brazil’s coastal forest is the Drowned Lake, an area of folk tales and legends, where many who trespass never return. When Bento, a student in his twenties, goes missing in this sinister place, it sets off a twisted story to discover the truth. Explore your surroundings by boat from a top-down perspective, collecting evidence with a fishing rod, while solving puzzles in first-person adventure-like segments. But try to avoid disturbing these troubled waters too much. Remember: you're not safe here.
Key Features
- A Non-linear Horror Story, Told From Three Perspectives: Explore the most forbidding reaches of the forest as a firefighter, a journalist and an elderly fisherman. Unravel the mystery and each character’s true motives in an interactive narrative where your choices matter.
- Scour Dark Waters for the Truth: Collect evidence and uncover what hides beneath the surface of the Drowned Lake by exploring, fishing, investigating, and solving puzzles.
- Beware Making Noise: As you probe the forest’s farthest depths, your choices and actions may increase your noise level, attracting unwanted attention from the horrors of the night.
- Discover the Nightmares of Brazilian Folklore: Experience a tragic, twisted tale inspired by the unique melting pot of Brazilian culture and mythology.
- Investigate in First-Person Mode: Navigate narrow areas, complete intricate puzzles, and experience the true terrors the darkness hides in first-person POV sections inspired by escape rooms and classic horror games.
Drowned Lake builds on the success of Monumental Collab’s Our Lady of the Drowned Lake, an original nautical horror experience created for the 2022 GMTK Game Jam. The development team has a shared passion for weird horror, producing multiple experiences for game jams over the years. The studio most recently released the free found-footage horror game TELEFORUM, which launched earlier this year to “Very Positive” player reviews on Steam.
Drowned Lake is available to wishlist now on Steam. For the latest information, follow the developers on Twitter, sign up for CRITICAL REFLEX’s horror-focused CR Channel newsletter, and join the CR Channel Discord.
About Monumental Collab
Monumental is a small collective spread throughout Brazil – a team formed by award-winning professionals known for games with a great sense of mood, mysterious narratives and immersive atmospheres.
About CRITICAL REFLEX
CRITICAL REFLEX is an indie game publishing label on a mission: find kick-ass games, make sure they’re at their best upon release, and put them in front of as many gaming fans as possible. Members of our team have worked with a lot of successful indie projects, launched a dozen crowdfunding companies, and now we've come together to publish games that we love! www.criticalreflex.com
Media Contact
Tyler Gardner
Sandbox Strategies for CRITICAL REFLEX
tyler@sandboxstrat.com
www.sandboxstrat.com