Dinosaurs are frightening enough on their own, but Wilderdark takes the danger considerably further by introducing an unnatural parasite capable of corrupting both prehistoric creatures and the environment around them. Developed by Junkfish, the first-person survival horror adventure is now available on PC, bringing players to a mysterious island where staying out of sight could mean the difference between survival and becoming another victim.
Available today on Steam for $17.99 USD, £13.75 GBP, or €15.49 EUR, Wilderdark is also launching with a 20% discount that runs until November 17. The game marks Junkfish’s return to survival horror following Monstrum, with a new adventure built around stealth, exploration, and the dangers of an ecosystem that has become increasingly hostile.
Players take on the role of a field operative sent to investigate the island and uncover the source of its apparent immortality. What begins as an expedition to document an unusual ecosystem soon becomes a much more personal investigation, as the protagonist must also discover what happened to previous expeditions that disappeared without a trace, including one led by their own parents.
The island is far from an ordinary prehistoric environment. An ectoparasitic organism has begun spreading throughout its ecosystem, transforming dinosaurs and plant life into something considerably more dangerous. With dense jungles, abandoned research camps, and parasite-infested ruins to explore, players will need to remain observant and make careful decisions about how they approach each encounter.
Rather than relying on direct confrontation, Wilderdark places considerable emphasis on remaining undetected. Its dinosaurs hunt using sight and sound, making stealth an essential part of navigating the island. Players will also need to document their discoveries through photography, collect biological samples, and craft useful equipment from available resources as they gradually piece together the mystery surrounding the island.
According to Junkfish founder and director Adam Dart, creating an experience that makes players feel vulnerable was central to the development team’s ambitions. The studio also sees the introduction of dinosaurs into a survival horror setting as an opportunity to explore a different kind of tension, where even seemingly ordinary sounds can signal an approaching threat.
The game has also benefited from feedback gathered during its Steam demo period. Updates introduced throughout development have included a more comprehensive tutorial, improved dinosaur designs and animations to make their behavior easier to read, and various quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes.
With Wilderdark now available, Junkfish is returning to the kind of stealth-focused horror that helped establish its reputation with Monstrum. This time, however, the studio is trading confined environments for a sprawling prehistoric island where the wildlife itself has become part of the nightmare. Players looking for a different take on dinosaur games may find that surviving this particular expedition requires considerably more than simply running away.