OZARK, from three-person studio ALTER-BOY, is out now on Steam. The team shadow-dropped it on October 1 during Insider Gaming’s 28 Games Later: A Horror Showcase, the same show that featured Mimic, the social deduction horror game we covered last week. Rather than a release date, OZARK’s spot in the show was an “Out Now” reveal, and the game went live on Steam right away.
It’s a dark, story-driven 2.5D tactical action horror shooter that you can play alone, with a friend on the couch, or with a friend online through Steam Remote Play Together, which means only one of you needs to buy it.
What Is OZARK?
OZARK is set in the remote mountains of Northern Canada. After a crash landing, you head into a seemingly abandoned facility while searching for a missing signal. Inside, you find evidence of macabre human experiments, and the further down you go, the clearer it becomes that something far worse is waiting beneath the surface.
It plays as a side-scroller, but it isn’t stuck on a single line. ALTER-BOY says the camera keeps that side-on view while still letting you move along the Z axis, in and out of the scene, which gives fights more room than a traditional left-to-right action game.
Combat is built around how you move, with room to step into the scene as well as left and right.
ALTER-BOY lists picking your targets as one of the core pillars of combat.
Hazards in the environment are part of the fight, according to the studio.
ALTER-BOY highlights dangerous close-range encounters as a core part of combat.
Built for Two
A controller is recommended, and Steam lists full controller support, including DualShock and DualSense. ALTER-BOY also says OZARK is playable and optimized on Steam Deck.
About That Box of Donuts
OZARK’s launch has leaned hard on its price. Ahead of launch, DualShockers’ Lucas Santos summed it up in a headline: “The Next Big Horror Shooter Will Cost the Same as a Box of Donuts.” Here’s what that looks like on Steam right now:
If you want a second dose of darkness, OZARK also launched in the After Dark Bundle alongside BLACKWOOD, a cinematic action thriller from the BLACKWOOD team and InfernoZilla. Buying both games together in the bundle takes 10% off.
A Mixed Start, and a Candid Thank-You
OZARK’s early reception has been divided. As of writing, its Steam user reviews sit at Mixed, from 21 reviews. That’s a small sample, and it’ll move as more people play. ALTER-BOY isn’t hiding from it, either. In a launch statement, creative director Andrew Kostuik described the response as “amazing, mixed, thoughtful, and sometimes incredibly detailed,” and was unusually open about what a three-person team could and couldn’t do:
We haven’t played OZARK yet, so we’re not weighing in on the reviews. But “we finished it” lands differently coming from a team of three that spent more than six years fitting development around families and careers.
OZARK at a Glance
| Genre | 2.5D tactical action horror shooter |
| Players | 1–2 · local shared/split-screen co-op · online via Remote Play Together |
| Playtime | About 3–6 hours, depending on difficulty |
| Controller | Recommended · full controller support |
| Steam Deck | Playable and optimized, per ALTER-BOY |
| Achievements | 33 |
| Language | English (interface, full audio, subtitles) |
| Minimum PC | Windows 7/10 64-bit · 8 GB RAM · GTX 780 or RX 470 · DirectX 12 · 10 GB |
| Recommended PC | Windows 10 · i7-4790 or Ryzen 3 3200G · 12 GB RAM · GTX 1060 6GB / GTX 1660 Super or RX 590 · 10 GB |
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