Silt is Limbo for people who need the extra terror of the deep sea, and arrives next month

Limbo's an all-timer when it comes to brutal, unnerving monochrome platformers. But Limbo's almost 12 years old, it's about time someone came to not only knock it off its pedestal, but sink it into the murky, oppressive depths of the scariest place on Earth: the ocean.

We first caught Silt at last year's PC Gaming Showcase, describing it as Abzu meets Limbo. It is, in fact, very much that—with you taking control of a diver swimming through an oppressive, desaturated underwater labyrinth where vision is limited and death comes quick.

Silt has a few of its own tricks to play, mind. While the palette looks very Limbo, more illuminated areas show off a world of hand-drawn creatures, ancient temples and clockwork mechanisms. You're also not as helpless as Playdead's eminently-murderable lost kid—Silt's diver can possess sea creatures to help solve puzzles, as well as harness the powers of the colossal deep-sea goliaths that lurk in the hidden corners of the ocean.

So a Limbo-like, yes, but one with enough focus on worldbuilding and mind-controlled fish to help it stand (err, swim) on its own two feet. Silt comes out on Steam on June 1. Thalassaphobes need not apply.

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.