Announced during the September Nintendo Direct, Onyx: The Dark Grip is a brand-new horror game coming exclusively to the Nintendo Switch 2. Onyx: The Dark Grip‘s reveal trailer teased some unique console-specific mechanics and an eerie atmosphere that looked very reminiscent of classic Silent Hill, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise given the studio that’s behind the upcoming Switch 2 exclusive.
Founded in 2008, Bloober Team is a Polish studio that got its start creating games for handheld devices like the Nintendo DS, PSP, and mobile phones. But the studio really started to make a name for itself in the 2020s with the release of games like Layers of Fear, Oberserver, Blair Witch, and The Medium. Bloober Team’s expertise in the horror genre eventually led to Konami approaching the studio to remake Silent Hill 2. Even in the face of incredibly high expectations, the Silent Hill 2 remake was met with a very warm reception from critics, earning a Top Critic Average of 87 on OpenCritic upon its debut.
Onyx: The Dark Grip Is a Nintendo Switch 2 Exclusive with Serious Silent Hill Vibes
Now, alongside its in-house co-development unit Broken Mirror Games, Bloober Team is making Onyx: The Dark Grip, a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive horror game with an intriguing premise. Onyx: The Dark Grip will see players take control of “two sides of the same dark struggle,” according to the game’s official press release. One side is The Vessel, an ordinary man just fighting to survive in a bleak world, and the other is The God, a mysterious entity possessing him.
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Image via Bloober Team -
Image via Bloober Team -
Image via Bloober Team
Throughout Onyx: The Dark Grip, players will swap between these two perspectives. As The Vessel, players explore a monster-infested town trapped in an endless winter. From a 2D side-scrolling perspective, players will control The Vessel as he scrounges up resources and ventures through the dangerous world.
As The God, players will manipulate the world directly using some of the Nintendo Switch 2’s unique features. For instance, players will be able to move parts of the environment via the Switch 2’s touchscreen, and blow into the console’s microphone to warm The Vessel from the cold. Because of these unique mechanics, Onyx: The Dark Grip will only be playable in the Switch 2’s handheld configuration.
Along with some unique mechanics, Onyx: The Dark Grip seems to be wearing its Silent Hill influences on its sleeve. Though it’s experimenting with a different camera perspective, the visual tone of Onyx: The Dark Grip‘s gameplay looks very familiar, with the trailer focusing on the lone Vessel exploring an isolated, eerie town full of monsters and fog. There’s even a shot in Onyx: The Dark Grip‘s reveal trailer that looks like a direct reference to SIlent Hill 2, with The Vessel staring at himself in a dingy mirror as the player observes from an over-the-shoulder perspective.