Dead Drop Studios have this week revealed a brand new entry into their long-running Outbreak series. The new title, Shades of Horror, will bring full co-operative gameplay and a huge audiovisual overhaul to the retro survival horror aesthetic that has made the series a cult favorite — as showcased in the game’s very first trailer, which can be viewed below.
What’s more, players can get a taste of the overhauled Outbreak experience right away — with a fully playable teaser demo available now via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and Google Stadia. This will be the first-ever demo that can be played on Stadia with no sign-in or sign-up required, a simple click of the link will allow players to try the teaser. Players with a Stadia account will have unlimited access to the demo.
Designed as an atmospheric introduction to the tone and visual fidelity that Drop Dead Studios are targeting with the full release, the playable teaser invites players to lose themselves in the aftermath of a catastrophic event. Using first-person puzzle-solving, players will attempt their escape from the city as they unlock each of the eight possible endings.
Outbreak: Shades of Horror is described as a love letter to the thought-provoking, mind-bending video games of the golden age of survival horror in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Towards the end of this era, there was an emphasis on stories driven by multiple characters with multiplayer co-op — and it's this spirit that Dead Drop Studios aim to capture in their new title.
Inspired by the likes of Resident Evil: Outbreak, Shades of Horror will see players control one of eight survivors as they fight to escape the city of Cypress Ridge during the early days of the zombie apocalypse. Fans of the earlier Outbreak games will be excited to see two favorites, Lydia and Hank, as their origins are revealed.
Each survivor will have a unique backstory and skillset that provides players with new ways to explore their environment. Players will need to complete the game multiple times — piecing together journal entries, recordings and radio station broadcasts scattered throughout the city — to gain a full understanding of the multifaceted story. The goal is not to save the day — just to get out in one piece!
Today’s teaser packs all the classic survival horror tropes — including resource management, searching for lore, solving puzzles, and making use of weapons and equipment to find salvation. Take too long, and you'll join the ranks of the infected.
With Shades of Horror, Dead Drop Studios — a.k.a. Evan and Julia Wolbach — have ambitions beyond those of their previous fan-favourite titles. As such, the pair will be heading to Kickstarter later this month to ask players for $62,5000 (approx. £52,000) to transform the world of Cypress Ridge with next-gen production values to bring the horror to life.
With the funds, Dead Drop Studios plan to expand the team and join forces with additional artists, animators, sound designers and composers, to create a survival horror experience never seen before in the Outbreak series.
The Kickstarter is slated to launch on August 31st and players can follow the page for updates.
Evan Wolbach, co-founder of Dead Drop Studios, said: "Since 2015, the Outbreak series has had tens of thousands of players and has sold over one hundred thousand games across our physical and digital platforms. Now it's time for us to shoot for the moon and deliver the true co-op survival horror experience that fans have been demanding."
Julia Wolbach, co-founder of Dead Drop Studios, added: "Despite being a total wimp when it comes to survival horror games, I've always loved how the genre has managed to preserve the original things that drew me into gaming — more so than any other genre. I'm super excited to give players — not just existing Outbreak fans, but anyone who turns to their co-op buddies and says 'Remember when...?' — a little slice of the old days, wrapped up in a truly next-gen production."
Since 2015, Evan and Julia Wolbach have been producing survival horror games that hark back to the good old days of the genre.
To date, the duo has developed and self-published seven installments of the Outbreak series — selling over 100,000 units to tens of thousands of passionate survival horror fans.
Historically, Dead Drop Studios' titles have been entirely self-funded and created as a two-person outfit. Outbreak: Shades of Horror represents the indie studio's first foray into a bigger, next-gen production.
