Dead Format

About

Dead Format is a single player survival action adventure game with horror, mystery and violence themes. It was developed by katanalevy and was released on December 10, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Dead Format is a survival horror game set in iconic film eras. It's 1990s Scotland, and your brother has gone missing after becoming obsessed with a mysterious new VHS format. Follow his trail through the tapes and uncover why the government wants to ban "Video Ghastlies".

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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83%Audience ScoreBased on 141 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

Unique and creative concept of entering VHS tapes with distinct horror genre aesthetics; visually stunning with great atmosphere and sound design.
Well-made live-action sequences add charm and enhance immersion; enjoyable and clever interconnected puzzles that reward exploration.
Strong passion and love evident in the development; recommended for fans of classic horror films and indie horror games.

Relentless stalker enemy with poor AI that frequently appears, forcing tedious stealth sections and slowing pacing significantly.
Limited inventory management and lack of autosaves result in excessive backtracking and frustration, impacting game flow negatively.
Abrupt and unsatisfying ending with unresolved storylines and underdeveloped narrative threads, leaving many players disappointed.

gameplay
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
68%
14%
The gameplay features a mix of puzzle-solving, exploration, and stealth-based survival horror mechanics, with an interesting VHS tape mechanic adding variety and atmosphere. While some users praised the distinctive puzzles and thematic presentation, many found the repetitive hide-and-seek stalking segments tedious and the overall pacing slow due to frequent backtracking and cumbersome inventory management. Despite its artistic strengths and solid core design, the gameplay is often seen as lacking polish, variety, and engaging combat, which hampers the experience for some players.
- “As a former film student and long time voice actor, seeing all the different genres of horror and how they were translated to gameplay and aesthetics was a massive joy.”
- “Gameplay is mostly stealth horror, with some shooting and inventory management thrown in which I appreciate, it does add a bit more meat to the experience.”
- “The creepy atmospheres, the various puzzles that require you to go from one area to the next to be introduced to new game mechanics; that was my favorite thing about this game.”
- “Just finished the game, and it only took me 3 hours to beat, and it was one of the most tedious 3 hours of gameplay I've sat through in a long time.”
- “The lack of a map that would help with navigation, the protagonist’s infuriatingly slow movement speed and the almost exclusive focus on hide-and-seek gameplay with an overly relentless stalker all add up to a less than pleasant experience.”
- “Sadly, around an hour in you get introduced to the main antagonist of the game - and it falls apart gameplay-wise.”
graphics
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
40%
6%
The game features stunning and diverse visuals that effectively capture retro horror aesthetics, including silent black-and-white film, VHS grain, and neon-soaked pulp-movie styles, reflecting clear artistic care and attention to detail. While performance may be demanding on mid-range hardware, the graphics excel in creating an immersive, atmospheric experience that appeals strongly to fans of analog horror and classic survival horror vibes. Some players felt the visual style overstayed its welcome or that certain animations were dated, but overall, the graphics are widely praised as a standout element of the game.
- “Some of the visuals in the silent film in particular are among the best I've seen in any indie horror game.”
- “The game is incredibly beautiful, with some of the best visuals I have ever seen in an indie game.”
- “Each of the three main worlds have a distinct aesthetic from silent black & white to oversaturated neon.”
- “Visuals are fine, but enemy animations are something you'd expect from a game made 20 years ago.”
- “Just be aware that high graphics settings may cause performance issues if you don't have anything better than an RTX 2060.”
- “All the creative choices for setting and visuals are buried under unclear goals and progression requirements, stalling player progress.”
story
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
59%
8%
The story offers an intriguing, atmospheric horror experience with strong 80s influences and enjoyable worldbuilding, but many find it underdeveloped, with an abrupt, unresolved ending and uneven narrative cohesion. While some appreciate the visual storytelling and plot twists, others feel the narrative relies too heavily on scattered notes and lacks depth, making it feel incomplete or more like an art piece than a fully compelling story. Overall, it has moments of fun and suspense but may leave players wanting a more satisfying conclusion.
- “The story revolves around the disappearance of the protagonist’s brother, whose fixation on a mysterious outlawed VHS format known as “video ghastlies” leads him down a disturbing path.”
- “The overall story in my opinion is very straightforward and enjoyable to be a part of.”
- “I enjoyed the story all the way through and was not able to predict the turns in the plot.”
- “I get the plot here with this whole government coverup, but the ending feels abrupt and a big nothing. The brother and secret organization plot kinda just doesn't get resolved really. It feels like this game is only half complete and released as is.”
- “The storyline is not that great in my opinion; the ideas seem half baked.”
- “The initially charming series of references to horror films by Cronenberg, Carpenter, and Argento begin to ring hollow as the narrative fails to form its own cohesive story.”
atmosphere
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
35%
8%
The game is widely praised for its rich, immersive atmosphere, with many highlighting its tense, unsettling tone, effective use of sound design, and strong aesthetic consistency that evokes nostalgia and horror. While some find the stalker enemy mechanic frustrating and believe it undermines the suspense, the overall atmospheric experience—enhanced by visuals, music, and detailed level design—is regarded as a standout feature that deeply engages players.
- “The atmosphere is just sublime; the style when you walk into each level makes my fear build up. Not too many games rely on tension build-up—they just throw jump scares at you. Walking around a corner in this game, I just don't know what is waiting for me in the shadows.”
- “Dead format is a strikingly atmospheric survival horror experience that wears its cinematic influences proudly while experimenting with form in ways that feel both nostalgic and unsettling.”
- “Having grown up in the 90s, I can say with confidence that the art direction is spot on; the atmosphere is so thick it’s palpable.”
- “It kills pretty much all of the atmosphere and dread once this enemy appears because it's just a constant cycle of hiding under a table, walking for 30 to 40 seconds to find another hiding spot or key item, then hiding again as the stalker enemy runs immediately to your position.”
- “Most offensively, it's boring, no scares, no atmosphere, and you end up backtracking through the bland, shallow levels again for more weak puzzles.”
- “To add to this, Katanalevy has a masterful grasp on the aesthetics of the past, using the constraints of VHS and film to create a genuinely unsettling atmosphere, but the poorly implemented stalker mechanic drags the experience down.”
optimization
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
50%
19%
The game's optimization is mixed, with some users experiencing smooth, playable performance especially on high-end hardware, while others face severe performance issues, including frame drops, lag spikes, and occasional crashes. It is generally demanding and could benefit from further optimization patches to improve stability and performance on mid-range systems. Despite this, many still recommend the game due to its strong atmosphere and visuals.
- “Flawless performance.”
- “Performance-wise, it ran great on my PC (5800x3d, RTX 5080, 32GB DDR4 @ 3733MHz). I used DLSS upscaling set to 58% @ 4K and unlocked the frame limiter.”
- “Other than some lag spikes loading the tapes, performance during the rest of the game was good and only had to render the shaders once.”
- “The game has severe performance problems.”
- “The game is unoptimized to an almost unplayable level on almost recommended-level hardware on medium settings.”
- “There are some performance issues like frame rate drops and screen tearing, and the game crashed once.”
music
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
38%
The music and sound design are consistently praised for enhancing the game's atmosphere, with standout compositions that complement the visuals and storytelling. While generally regarded as excellent or good, some users note it fits the tone well without being extraordinary. Overall, the music is an integral and well-executed aspect of the experience.
- “The music and sound design is perfect, I loved the sound of the teeth gun.”
- “Kudos to the music composition and the sound design too, I think it really elevates the visuals.”
- “The music, video vignettes, and visual atmosphere of the game were all great.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is frequently described as tedious and repetitive, with many encounters feeling monotonous and lacking in challenge. While some players found moments of tension and fairness in the stealth mechanics, the overall pacing—especially forced slowdowns and lengthy backtracking—tends to diminish the enjoyment.
- “Just finished the game, and it only took me 3 hours to beat, and it was one of the most tedious 3 hours of gameplay I've sat through in a long time.”
- “These encounters are largely identical, tedious, and lacking difficulty.”
- “There were some genuinely tense moments in some of the early stealth sequences, but towards the end it has gotten pretty tedious; especially since missing a single clue means 30+ minutes of very slow backtracking.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game features highly realistic graphics and generally runs well, but suffers from frequent complete freezes causing "application hang" errors. Combined with limited save options and no auto-save, these stability issues detract from the overall experience.
- “More than once the game completely freezes on me, presenting me with an 'application hang' message.”
- “Because combining the freezes with the fact that it operates on old-school survival horror saving - as in, only one place to save and no auto-save function - adds an unfun element to the experience.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game lacks emotional depth, with no impactful moments from the main character or memorable ending scenes, leaving players feeling it could have been more developed in this aspect. Minor technical issues also slightly detract from the overall experience.
- “It's a little heartbreaking to see some mixed reviews for this game considering I've played significantly worse asset flip games that receive glowing praise for little more than just a high-quality stock asset placed in volumetric lighting.”
- “No emotional moments from the main character at all, no memorable ending set piece, and I feel like it could have been fleshed out a bit more.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by its cheesy b-movie VHS clips and a blend of funny yet creepy live-action effects, creating a unique and entertaining atmosphere. However, some users find the tone ambiguous, unsure if the story aims for humor or seriousness, which slightly undermines its comedic impact. Overall, the humor contributes positively to the game's distinctive vibe.
- “The atmosphere and horror were very good, the cheesy B-movie VHS clips were as hilarious as they were driving the plot.”
- “The live-action filming and practical effects are genuinely great; they're both funny and creepy, and the general vibe of the game is fantastic.”
- “The use of visual storytelling is phenomenal.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users note that the game suggests replayability through possible alternate endings, although the ending felt somewhat abrupt. This hints at additional content or choices that encourage multiple playthroughs.