Hidden Deep is a physics horror game inspired by The Thing

I might like Hidden Deep more if it wasn't for the monsters. It's a 2D game about descending into caverns beneath the ocean and using physics, ropes, and gadgets to chart your way through. This is a game I strongly want to play. But then, there are also terrible, gristly beasts that will rip you and your squad into chunks, and I'm a giant wuss.

If you're braver than I, there's a demo you can play now, and a recent trailer below.

This particular trailer was showing this week during the Future Games Show, although most (all?) of the footage is old.

Fixing ropes to cavern walls and ziplining across chasms? Yes. Using drones to map the size and shape of adjacent caverns? Yes. Doing all this in a relentless horror atmosphere before having my hands bit off by a disguised monster? No, no, no, no no.

Although a co-op mode is "being considered" according to the Steam page, right now Hidden Deep is a singleplayer game. You control your crew of brave souls either directly or by giving orders, and you'll need to coordinate their actions if you're going to survive. There are two modes to play - a story mode with handcrafted levels, and a survival mode where the levels are randomised. I will cross my fingers for a "peaceful spelunking mode" sometime down the line.

You can grab the Hidden Deep demo from the game's Steam page. The full game is aiming for release later this year.