Wilderdark turns a dinosaur island into a first-person survival horror nightmare

Team Junkfish is preparing to release Wilderdark, a first-person survival horror game that combines dinosaur encounters with the kind of stealth and vulnerability more commonly associated with games like Outlast.

The game sends players to an unnatural island where dinosaurs and plant life have been corrupted by a mysterious ectoparasitic organism. Recent listings place the Steam release on November 10, although Team Junkfish’s own website currently lists the game simply as coming soon after previously announcing November 3.

Wilderdark is built around surviving creatures rather than overpowering them. Players crash-land with limited equipment and must carefully move through environments where even small amounts of noise can attract dangerous predators.

The dinosaurs are not presented as ordinary prehistoric animals either. An unknown parasite has infected the island’s ecosystem, creating grotesque growths across creatures and vegetation while leaving its wider effects on organic life unclear.

Stealth therefore becomes one of the main survival tools. Players need to watch enemy behavior, find safe routes and decide when moving closer to a creature is worth the risk.

The protagonist was originally sent to the island by an organization searching for immortality. That assignment involves documenting the ecosystem, gathering biological samples and discovering what happened to earlier expeditions that disappeared there.

One of those missing groups was led by the protagonist’s parents, giving the investigation a more personal connection to the island. Environmental storytelling is expected to gradually reveal what previous teams discovered before contact with them was lost.

A camera plays an important role in that investigation. Players can photograph and scan organisms they encounter, meaning getting useful evidence may require deliberately approaching creatures that would normally be safer to avoid.

Resources found around the island can be turned into tools needed to continue exploring. Players can establish camps, gather materials and manage limited supplies while preparing for encounters with increasingly dangerous wildlife.

That gives Wilderdark a different focus from dinosaur games centered on combat or building large survival bases. The emphasis is closer to field research under pressure, with exploration and observation repeatedly placing the player in vulnerable positions.

Team Junkfish previously developed Monstrum, another first-person horror game built around avoiding powerful predators. Wilderdark expands that idea into outdoor environments with a larger ecosystem and more investigation-focused systems.

Players interested in trying the game before launch can currently download a free Steam demo. Team Junkfish updated the demo for Steam Next Fest with a revised tutorial, improved navigation and changes intended to better represent the finished survival loop.

The current build limits players to the opening forest area and roughly one hour of play. Wilderdark is currently announced only for PC through Steam, with no PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo versions confirmed.