Darkwood 2 is being developed by Ice-Pick Lodge, the studio behind Pathologic. The original Darkwood was made by Acid Wizard Studio. That handover is the most interesting fact about this game.

It is set a few years after the first game, in the scorched deserts of the dying Aral Sea, with a new story and new characters that the developers say stand on their own.

Status: coming soon, no date announced. Developed by Ice-Pick Lodge, published by Hooded Horse.

Key features

The day and night split returns

Roam freely by day securing resources and exploring. At nightfall, seek shelter, shore up your defences and wait it out while the world hunts whoever was not ready.

That structure is what made the original a landmark — it turned preparation into the horror, because every hour spent scavenging was an hour not spent boarding a window. Keeping it is the right call.

A real place, falling apart

The setting is the Aral Sea after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with deserted villages, ships marooned in sand, derelict oil rigs and failing factories. An anomalous forest is swallowing everything in its path.

The first Darkwood used a Polish forest. Moving to one of the real world’s most notorious ecological disasters gives the sequel a setting that is already uncanny before anything supernatural is added.

No prior knowledge required

Hooded Horse state the story is self-contained and can be enjoyed without having played the first game. For a sequel to a cult indie horror title that is a deliberate accessibility choice, not a throwaway line.

The Ice-Pick Lodge question

Ice-Pick Lodge made Pathologic and Pathologic 2 — games about scarcity, disease and being too slow to save everyone. On paper that is an excellent match for Darkwood’s resource panic.

But they are not Acid Wizard, and Darkwood’s reputation rests heavily on a very specific tone: dread delivered through a top-down light cone rather than through text. Whether a different studio reproduces that is the open question, and nobody can answer it yet.

Everything here comes from the Steam page. There is no date, no price and no hands-on coverage.

Where to find Darkwood 2

• Wishlist on Steam — coming soon
• Official site: darkwoodgame.com
• The original Darkwood is $19.99 on Windows, macOS and Linux

Frequently asked questions

When is Darkwood 2 coming out?

No release date has been announced. It is listed as coming soon on Steam.

Who is making Darkwood 2?

Ice-Pick Lodge, the studio behind Pathologic, with Hooded Horse publishing. The original Darkwood was made by Acid Wizard Studio.

Do I need to play the first Darkwood?

No. The sequel has an entirely new story and characters and is described as standing on its own.

Where is Darkwood 2 set?

Around the dying Aral Sea after the collapse of the Soviet Union, among deserted villages, stranded ships and abandoned industrial sites.

Is Darkwood 2 top-down like the original?

The store material points to the same day-scavenging, night-defending structure, but the developers have not detailed the camera. Treat it as unconfirmed.