
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".
Modeled estimate, not a reported figure. How we estimate →
Discounts
Every price cut of more than 20% we have observed, in each market that quoted one, with this game's chart position on either side of it. These are episodes, not a model: a sale is one event, and one event cannot tell you what the next one will do.
Reviews, worldwide (the counter carries no country): 0.14/day in the week to Aug 23 → 0.86/day in the week after.
For scale, across Steam · Top Sellers · Brazil over the last 30 days: the 26 chart moves that followed a price cut of more than 20% went a median of 7 places towards #1, and the 2,400 moves with no price cut behind them went 2 away. One store, one chart, one country — it is the only place we have enough observations to say even that.
Prices outside the United States have been collected since 6 August 2026 and chart positions since 19 July 2026, so a cut older than that has no market to compare and a market that joined later has no history yet. Nothing here is converted between currencies.
About
A lost brother. A cursed VHS format. A government cover-up.
Dead Format is a survival horror game that takes you on a nightmarish journey through iconic eras of film. Set in 1990s Scotland, you play as a desperate sibling searching for their missing brother who was last seen obsessing over a mysterious VHS format. Dive into the tapes, fight your way through cinematic worlds, and find your brother before it’s too late.
Your apartment is the hub. Here you can review clues, catch your breath, and prepare for the journey ahead. Use the Television set and insert VHS tapes to open the door to new worlds, each one with its own inspiration. Search for clues and face the nightmares in universes inspired by Silent Era Cinema, Italian Giallo films, and 80s Body Horror.
Search for supplies to stay alive and uncover key items to solve puzzles, unlocking your path forward.
Arm yourself with weapons and tools inspired by the film worlds you’ll explore.
Discover homemade VHS footage that blurs the line between fiction and reality.
Your apartment is the only place you can save the game. Find shortcuts and new paths to progress on your journey.
Each world comes with its own enemies, puzzles, and unique areas to explore.
Everything in Dead Format is created just for the game. This includes the VHS footage, which is recorded and edited by Katanalevy. Each tape provides a nostalgic window into the worlds players will explore.
Chris Evry (Katanalevy) is a Scottish solo developer drawn to creating experiences that are a blend of the darkly visceral and gothic sublime. He is the creator of Cardiac, Symphony of Seven Souls and Daemonologie.
Genres
Engagement
Reviews
Themes across 58 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
Reviews
The game wants you to die for no reason
氛围不错,艺术造诣很高,以血肉左轮和小提琴作为武器,用复古B级片录像带作为物资和穿越不同区域的手段也很有创意,但这也导致几个区域基本没什么关联性,经常拿了个道具然后就忘了该用在哪或者不知道该用在哪,有些道具甚至跟使用的场景很难关联(比如用蜡烛烧绳子,按常理来说都是剪断),并且子物资分配也很不平衡,一堆子弹但是怪却少得可怜,唯一的大怪还没法杀,感觉去掉武器系统都没问题,游戏结尾更是结束得非常突兀,像是编不下去了,总体差强人意吧
I really wanted to like this game given the awesome concept of parallel worlds accessible via analog VHS tapes. I understand not wanting to implement auto-save in a survival horror game like the original RE. However, having only one singular save point in the entire game is completely ridiculous. Further to this point, having only 8 inventory slots (where some items take up 2 spots) is also completely ridiculous and is some kind of choice made by the devs. Part and parcel with the singular save point, having a singular inventory box is also a doozy of a design choice. This does nothing but add artificial play time by constantly running back and forth, same also goes with the save point. Which, if you fail there are no checkpoints so be prepared to make up a lot of work in between saves if something goes wrong. This brings me to my next point: the bugs. Soft locks abound from obtaining weapons to menu screens! As a kid that grew up on survival horror, and enjoy games that harken back to that era, this is not it. At least RE had multiple typewriters. Edit: The AI "stalker" is one of the worst stalker type enemies I have ever encountered in a survival horror game. For something that apparently depends on sound to know where are, it does a damned good job of finding it without the player making a sound.
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Stats
All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Languages: English
Hours played at review time, across 59 reviews with recorded playtime.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
I didn't expect this, but the game turned out to be really good. Well-crafted locations, a unique story, and solid mechanics. It almost feels like it was built on the Resident Evil engine, the two are quite similar. I was also pleasantly surprised that the game is genuinely scary and keeps you on edge throughout.
A very interesting game, not without its jank, but worth your time if you like original ideas in your indie titles. Performance wasn't amazing but some of the visuals were fantastic.
Absolutely loved this game, everything is spot on. From the filmed intros to the movies, to the graphics, to the sound design and atmosphere. Will definitely replay at some point.
Really fun and creative game. It could be greatly improved with an autosave feature.
It's like Resident Evil, but It's actually somewhat scary.
Such an awesome idea. This game is really unique and fun throughout. I'm excited to buy anything this developer releases in the future.
Players by region
Where this game's players are, estimated from review languages.
Players also reviewed
The games this title's players most often review too — audience affinity.
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