MOLE

About MOLE

MOLE is a single player simulation game with a horror theme. It was developed by OffBlackCreations and was released on June 15, 2026. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

MOLE is a psychological horror experience with tactile simulation elements about madness, faith, and the depths we choose to dig. You are the Navigator aboard a deep-bore vessel, a colossal drilling machine. But the crew is gone. The vessel is silent. And the Signal won’t stop calling. Spiral into your own history as fragments of your memory surface with choices that refuse to stay buried. Interac…

Skip Games Like MOLE

Looking for games like MOLE? Here are top simulation recommendations with a horror focus, selected from player-similarity data — start with Mouthwashing, Mouthwashing or DEAD LETTER DEPT..

96%24.1kreviews

Mouthwashing

2024

Action

93%26.9kreviews

Mouthwashing

2024

Simulation

95%1.8kreviews

DEAD LETTER DEPT.

2025

Simulation

88%619reviews

Dead Take

2025

Survival Simulation

87%892reviews

KARMA: The Dark World

2025

Role Playing

82%1.6kreviews

No one lives under the lighthouse

2020

Simulation

SOMA

Action

86%5.3kreviews

ROUTINE

2025

Survival Simulation

90%27.7kreviews

SIGNALIS

2022

Survival Shooter

94%5kreviews

Lost in Vivo

Reviews

98%Audience ScoreBased on 1,740 reviews

story377 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

Exceptional atmosphere and immersive sound design create a claustrophobic and tense horror experience.
Engaging and tactile gameplay mechanics involving operating a drilling vessel are satisfying and unique.
Compelling, emotional, and well-paced story addressing themes of grief, loss, and cosmic horror with effective environmental storytelling.

Some chase sequences can be repetitive or frustrating and may break immersion for certain players.
Game length is relatively short, which may feel insubstantial to some at full price.
Occasional unintuitive puzzles and instances of unclear objectives can cause player confusion or require external help.

story
698 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54% positive mentions, 45% neutral mentions, 1% negative mentions
The story of the game is widely praised for its emotional depth, gripping narrative, and effective blend of psychological and cosmic horror themes. Players appreciate its immersive worldbuilding, tight pacing, and thought-provoking, sometimes gut-wrenching exploration of grief and loss, often delivered through subtle environmental storytelling. While the story is mostly linear and relatively short, it remains highly impactful, keeping players engaged and leaving a lasting impression well beyond the gameplay experience.
- “The story is phenomenal, tugs at your emotions at times, especially if you have a son.”
- “Incredibly well executed storytelling that kind of forced me to care.”
- “One of the best horror games I've played in a long time along with a great story.”
- “Gameplay is repetitive as hell and the novelty of having to manipulate everything through different types of inputs, while neat at the start, gets old very fast, since the story is just not that great and having to repeat a sequence of things four times during a time constraint is not all that engaging.”
- “Its a bit short, but highly impactful gameplay interactions in a captivating story.”
- “It's an ok story but it didn't really mean anything; I felt I didn't have a choice in anything the character did, it kinda felt more like a short story than a good game.”
gameplay
336 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 2% negative mentions
The gameplay is widely praised for its tactile, immersive, and satisfying mechanics centered around operating a massive drilling machine, combining puzzle-solving, exploration, and survival elements that effectively build tension and atmosphere. While some find certain mechanics repetitive or occasionally unintuitive, the gradual introduction and clever variations keep the gameplay engaging throughout its concise 3-4 hour runtime. Overall, the gameplay is thoughtfully integrated with the story and environment, making it a standout feature that complements the game’s psychological horror experience.
- “The gameplay is so tactile and satisfying while not being too difficult, and the story just blows you away.”
- “The gameplay was also actually fun, you mostly piloting a giant drill the entire game but they add new mechanics and mix it up enough to keep it interesting so it never felt repetitive for me.”
- “By setting itself in a small and detailed space--a vessel that is simultaneously oppressive and lived-in, brutal and cozy--and focusing on granular gameplay mechanics based around the operation of that vessel, mole establishes a sense of "place" and mundane reality that helps the horror and tragic elements stand out that much more.”
- “Gameplay is repetitive as hell and the novelty of having to manipulate everything through different types of inputs, while neat at the start, gets old very fast, since the story is just not that great and having to repeat a sequence of things four times during a time constraint is not all that engaging.”
- “I'd love a setting like Soma has to render these either easier or irrelevant for folks who want to focus on the story or other gameplay elements because this was the only real detractor of the game for me and it was significant enough that I gave up right before the end and just watched the final portion on YouTube. (Yes, I was that frustrated, and I was in the literal last maybe... 20 minutes of gameplay) so I consider this to be a relatively important bit of feedback.”
- “Gameplay is a big rough at times, crawling is not fun, puzzles were straightforward and honestly on the easy side.”
atmosphere
187 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62% positive mentions, 36% neutral mentions, 2% negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is universally praised as incredibly immersive, tense, and oppressive, successfully combining eerie sound design, detailed environments, and psychological horror to create a gripping experience. Reviews highlight its claustrophobic, dread-inducing mood that relies on sustained tension and worldbuilding rather than cheap jump scares, making it stand out in the horror genre. Many commend how the atmosphere perfectly complements the story and gameplay, delivering a haunting, evocative journey that captivates players from start to finish.
- “The atmosphere is impeccable, it captivated me from the start.”
- “The atmosphere is perfectly done, and the visual style and sound design are honestly unparalleled.”
- “The atmosphere is suffocating in the best way possible and the horror is built on dread, suspense, and a growing sense of tragedy.”
- “3/5 — promising atmosphere, but it wears thin fast.”
- “The atmosphere is oppressive, keep in mind there is a big claustrophobia element that is played into heavily in this game outside of the other triggers.”
- “Some sequences can be confusing or hard to see on account of darkness, screen shake and other factors; but these appear all to be intentional choices in presentation and sells the dismal and desperate atmosphere of mole's mission from start to end.”
graphics
127 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53% positive mentions, 45% neutral mentions, 2% negative mentions
The game features a distinctive retro, PS1-era art style blending nostalgic low-fi graphics with modern lighting and careful attention to detail, creating a gritty yet beautiful aesthetic that enhances its oppressive, immersive atmosphere. While not technically groundbreaking, the visuals are widely praised for their cohesive style, memorable environmental design, and effective use of lighting to deepen mood and storytelling. Overall, the graphics skillfully support the game's tense horror experience without relying on high fidelity, making them a standout aspect appreciated by both fans of retro and indie horror aesthetics.
- “From the stunning visuals to the eerie atmosphere, Mole delivers an incredible experience from start to finish.”
- “The art style caught my eye, but it's technically impressive as well.”
- “First off, the primary setting is amazingly done: walking throughout M-13, hearing all the different clicking dials and valves, steam leaking throughout the vessel, combined with the PSX style graphics but modern lighting and post processing made me feel like I was 5000m under the earth in an absurdly large drill.”
- “I've seen other games that provide no fps cap and graphics cards go full throttle and seen many people not play a game solely for that reason.”
- “Bit my graphics card like a rabid dog though, room felt like a sauna after 6 hours, poor guy was working overtime.”
- “I can see why this is clicking for a lot of players — the concept and sound design are genuinely strong — but the repetitive pacing, muddy visuals, and thin save support kept me from enjoying it as much as I'd hoped.”
emotional
73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game delivers a deeply emotional and heart-wrenching narrative that resonates strongly with players, often eliciting tears and a profound sense of connection to themes of loss, grief, and human trauma. Its well-crafted story, immersive atmosphere, and subtle world-building combine to create an emotionally powerful experience that transcends typical horror, leaving a lasting impact well beyond its short playtime.
- “I've never had a game emotionally grip me in every way possible.”
- “An intensely emotional and reflective game that reveals itself as the end of a long, tragic story with very patient, gradual revelations about the main character and his circumstances.”
- “The story was great and leaves me wanting more, it was very emotional and really gets you in the feels by setting up amazing environments or scenes.”
music
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59% positive mentions, 31% neutral mentions, 10% negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for its tense, creepy, and atmospheric qualities that perfectly complement the horror setting and gameplay. Composed by Freddew, the original soundtrack enhances immersion through well-placed sound effects, memorable loops, and mood-setting tracks that heighten dramatic and chase scenes. Overall, the soundtrack is regarded as a standout feature, adding depth without overshadowing the experience, and is highly appreciated by players and reviewers alike.
- “Music and sound effects are perfectly placed, with very tense and creepy sound effects.”
- “[i]mole[/i] is a gem, a rare example of how to weave level design, music, sound, and slow, ongoing discoveries into an immersive puzzle of a world that does storytelling right.”
- “All of the high intensity scenes are surrounded with perfectly complementing ambience and music, adding so much to the experience.”
- “The soundtrack serves to help set the mood and doesn't draw too much attention to itself.”
- “The confined space, the music, the general audio, the lighting, it makes it really good.”
- “The sounds and music are well chosen.”
optimization
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18% positive mentions, 64% neutral mentions, 18% negative mentions
Optimization in the game is inconsistent, with some users experiencing significant performance issues and stuttering even on high-end hardware, while others report smooth gameplay on mid-range or integrated graphics. Problems may stem from both game and driver optimization, particularly on Linux. Overall, optimization is decent but occasionally problematic, affecting immersion for some players.
- “It is decently optimized outside a few spots.”
- “Also very well optimized, I'm on a GTX 970.”
- “Regarding performance, I decided to play it on my laptop with integrated graphics and it ran completely fine on high settings at 1920x1200.”
- “The only gripe I have with the game is that it made my computer sound like a jet engine when I ran it on native Linux, so I imagine optimization isn't the best.”
- “It's actually ridiculous how bad the optimization is in this game considering you can literally count the pixels of each texture on your fingers.”
- “The other small problem is performance; my computer is beefy (AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, 32GB RAM, and a 5070 GPU), and yet the game still stutters consistently and can drop below 30 FPS in some areas. This can break immersion in a lot of spots.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 70% negative mentions
The game's stability is generally acceptable, with most users finding it runs well and remains playable despite some bugs and glitches. However, opinions vary, as some find it noticeably buggy and confusing, while others see the issues as minor and not disruptive to the overall experience.
- “Regardless, the game never became unplayable and was extremely bug free.”
- “The gameplay is satisfying, the puzzles are fun and sometimes challenging without being annoying, it runs great, story is good, and it's at a good price point.”
- “Runs great on Steam Deck, I recommend mapping the inventory button to X and the crouch button to right stick click.”
- “I have no idea how this has overwhelmingly positive reviews but this game is a buggy confusing mess and that's kind of all I feel about it.”
- “Frankly, the game is a bug-ridden mess.”
- “A confusing buggy mess, I should have known better than to choose an indie horror game that looked like it was ripping off Mouthwash, thank god I didn't play for too long.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 12% neutral mentions, 88% negative mentions
Grinding in the game is characterized by some tedious and frustrating sequences, particularly involving difficult navigation and mission restarts, which can feel repetitive and annoying. However, these grind moments also contribute to the tense, claustrophobic atmosphere, maintaining engagement and suspense despite their manual and challenging nature.
- “So I got a fail message and was sent right back to the start of the tedious mission to do it all again, with no guarantee that if I chose to try again, I'd be able to find this room when stripped of the ability to see the game.”
- “The entire format of the game is extremely manual and these were the only parts I found tedious as hell and extremely unenjoyable.”
- “After failing a long, tedious goal with many difficult hiccups (story beats) along the way, this pitch-dark game stole my character's glasses, and I failed the mission because I couldn't navigate through a dim and flickering basement in time.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 25% neutral mentions, 75% negative mentions
The game offers a strong narrative and immersive atmosphere but provides little to no replayability, making it primarily a one-time experience.
- “Obviously, there's utterly no replayability, but it's certainly a great journey the first time through.”
- “Replay value 2/10.”
- “Zero replay value.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The humor in the game is a blend of dark, poetic moments and lighthearted elements, such as amusing character designs and casual mobile gameplay, which balance the overall intense and terrifying atmosphere.
- “Captivating, terrifying, poetic and darkly funny at parts.”
- “Being able to hold the phone and walk around was pretty funny.”
- “Also, the monster looked a bit funny at times, but the audio really pushed the intensity even then.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 100% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game excels in character development through its well-written story and lore, enhancing the horror atmosphere beyond just jump scares. Players appreciate the detailed character designs and engaging narrative that deepen immersion.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
The monetization in the game is criticized for intrusive and irrelevant advertisements, such as excessive flyers that disrupt the experience. Players find the promotional content distracting and poorly integrated into the gameplay.