Planned Release Date: Q1 2026

About This Game

Boreal Tenebrae: Act 0 is an atmospheric narrative adventure set in the strange, dying town of Tamarack Narrows—a place of disappearing industry, simmering resentment, flickering CRTs, and a crimson aurora that stains the sky like a wound.

You play through the interwoven perspectives of Sarah Walker, her sister Bree, and the people trapped in this remote northern community on the night everything unravels. A centennial celebration meant to save the town becomes the site of a surreal catastrophe, when an unknown visitor arrives promising salvation—and delivering something far older, and far worse.

Inspired by late-90s analog media, fixed-angle exploration games, and the dream-logic horror that defines the full Boreal Tenebrae series, Act 0 blends PSX-style visuals, lo-fi video textures, and narrative-driven exploration to create a world that feels both intimate and unsettling.

This is the night the story begins.
This is the night Tamarack Narrows changed forever.

• A standalone prequel that enriches and expands the world of Boreal Tenebrae: Act 1 while remaining accessible to new players.

• Multi-perspective narrative following Sarah, Bree, Nicole, Sam, and the townsfolk as their lives intersect during one disastrous community event.

• Analog-horror aesthetic: CRT distortion, VHS noise, infrared footage, and PS1-inspired visuals woven directly into gameplay.

• Exploration of a collapsing prairie town, from liquor stores and empty streets to church basements and industrial yards.

• Cinematic storytelling: Fixed-camera scenes, interactive dialogue, and surreal sequences bursting into the real world.

• A mystery rooted in community, class struggle, and cosmic intrusion, setting the stage for the events of Act 1.

• Atmospheric soundtrack that shifts between warm nostalgia and unnerving dissonance.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

Boreal Tenebrae: Act 0 contains themes and imagery that some players may find disturbing. While the game does not depict sexual acts or explicit violence, it does include:

• Depictions of emotional distress, panic, and mental breakdown in several characters.
• Scenes involving social tension, harassment, and aggressive confrontation between townspeople.
• References to alcohol and off-screen substance use, including intoxicated characters.
• Surreal or disturbing imagery, including VHS distortions, cosmic/analog horror, and frightening audiovisual effects.
• Depictions of fire, accidents, and a large-scale destructive event that endangers characters.
• Themes of community decline, labor conflict, and exploitation, which may be sensitive for some players.
• Violence (characters shoved, threatened, or placed in danger),
• Blood - Blood dripping from the sky
• Non-graphic scenes of characters experiencing physical pain or collapse during supernatural events.

The game explores psychological tension, industrial hardship, and cosmic unease, and may not be suitable for all audiences.