Coming soon

About This Game

OCTOBER 1991. THE STATE ASYLUM HAS BEEN CLOSED FOR NINE YEARS.

You have one night to find out what happened in Ward Nine.

Five patient files are still somewhere in the building. Find them, then reach the exit before the dark takes what is left of you.

Something else is still here. It wears a warden's uniform.

YOU CANNOT FIGHT

There is no weapon in Ward Nine. When the Warden finds you, your only options are distance and darkness. Break his line of sight. Get inside a locker. Hold your breath and listen to him move past or listen to him stop.

LISTEN

Your flashlight is a liability as much as a tool: it shows you the room, and it shows the room you. Batteries run down. Darkness eats away at your mind. Most of what you need to know arrives through sound footsteps on tile, a door closing two rooms away, breathing that is not yours.

YOUR ASYLUM IS YOURS ALONE

Every player is assigned a case number, and with it their own building. Room contents, patrol routes, supply codes and hiding places differ from player to player. A walkthrough written by someone else will not save you.

DEATH IS FINAL

There is no retry. If the Warden takes you, or your sanity gives out, your save is deleted and the run is over.

FEATURES

• First-person psychological horror with no combat and no weapons

• A hunter that patrols, investigates and searches and does not lose interest

• Flashlight and battery management in near-total darkness

• A sanity system driven by darkness and by what you see

• A layout, patrol pattern and supply code unique to your player profile

• Perma death. A lost run is lost for good

• Captions for sound effects: footsteps, doors and breathing are described on screen, so the game is playable without hearing it

• Ten achievements

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Some 2D UI and marketing assets were produced with AI assistance: the application and achievement icons were generated from AI-authored vector graphics, and the store capsule images were composited and colour-graded from in-game screenshots captured by the developer. Portions of the store description were drafted with AI assistance and edited by the developer. The game's 3D assets, audio and gameplay contain no generative AI content.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

Ward Nine is a psychological horror game set in an abandoned psychiatric institution in 1991. It contains depictions of death and corpses, including patients who died in the institution's care, and blood and bodily injury shown as environmental detail rather than graphic violence. Written documents describe institutional abuse of psychiatric patients, enforced isolation, unexplained screaming dismissed as therapy, and staff misconduct covered up by the institution. The player is pursued and killed by an unseen figure; death is shown as a darkened screen and a line of text, not graphically.

There is no sexual content or nudity. The player is never armed and commits no violence.

Players sensitive to themes of institutional abuse or mental illness should approach with care.