When the Darkness comes

When the Darkness comes

Sirhaian · March 1, 2019 · Psychological Horror, Free to Play, Walking Simulator, Indie, First-Person

When the Darkness comes is free to play — no purchase needed. We track it so you know if that ever changes.

PC
Very Positive92% · 8,4233playing now
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →

Screenshots

When the Darkness comes price

When the Darkness comes is free to play — there is no purchase price, on Steam or anywhere else we track. We keep watching it, so if it ever stops being free the price history on this page will show when that happened and what it changed to.

About When the Darkness comes

✦ AI summary

Walk through fragmented digital landscapes haunted by depression, anxiety, and existential dread as you search for meaning in a world designed to unsettle. This deeply personal art experience uses glitches and dark symbolism to confront the psychological toll of mental illness, making it a provocative meditation on human suffering that demands emotional vulnerability from players willing to face it.

A Game Without Meaning.
A Game Nobody Should Play.


When the Darkness comes is a walking simulator whose glitchy and dark tale tries to illustrate the hardships of depression and anxiety through a variety of imaginary digital landscapes.

A clock, a piano and a girl. What do they all mean?
What is meaning, anyway? What has meaning?
Do you have one? A path, a goal, something determined, pre-determined?
A light to follow?

Discover a world filled with loneliness and fear. A world where despair breathes and hope dies. A world about you, about us. A world about humanity and about life.

Before Starting


This Experience is NOT for everyone.
This Experience explores themes such as depression, anxiety, verbal abuse, manipulative control, and suicide.
This game could also potentially trigger epilepsy attacks.
Seriously, do NOT play this Experience if you believe this might affect you in any way.

The first Arc should take about one hour to complete.

About the Experience


This was the culmination of a self exploration into my own psyche. If it can help anyone else explore their own I am thankful for that, and if the game isn't to your liking I appreciate you taking the time to try it anyway. I won't be updating it anymore (safe for major bugs) since it was simply an outlet for my own creativity but enjoy it as it is.

Controls


Movement: WASD or arrow keys
Interact: F
Jump: Space
Sprint: Shift

There's a toggle to swap between AZERTY and QWERTY layouts in-game.

This Experience might not be suitable for streaming audiences.

When the Darkness comes — game info

Platforms
Windows
Steam Deck
Playable
Player modes
Single-player
PC Game Pass
Not included

What Steam players say

Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

Recommended Aug 14, 2026
please DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME if you have DEPRESSION or ANXIETY even if the game prevent you, DO NOT BE CURIOUS, please AVOID THIS GAME with ANXIETY or DEPRESSION, please
2 found this helpful
Recommended Sep 17, 2026
loved it will play again
Not recommended Sep 13, 2026
NO PLEASE RUN DONT PLAY THIS LET ME GO PLS HELP Oh, I mean, If you have motion sickness or would try to control exposure time to this game for some other reason please try not to play this game. I mean, it really does make you feel miserable. I guess that's the point, but why would I want to suffer more?? Didn't already had enough suffering??? Being being trapped, being watched, unable to see, stuck, lost... I just want to be happy ToT.
Recommended Sep 12, 2026
A polite notice for ANYONE going through ANY mental health battles with ANY mental condition(s), Example, Anxiety and/or depression. This game is going to touch on things you may currently be gonig through or gone through and it is almost certain it will hit things you do not want to be hit. (Including "Sewer side.") Please do not play this game unless you are absolutely certain you can play it. There is no shame however in ALT + F4 if needed. The game has some interesting mechanics in it. Very clever for what it is. The "story" is you and a narrator in the background, The narrator talks to you. Its worth playing. Hits a little close to home. Humbling too.
Recommended Sep 12, 2026
There's a reason it says don't play if you experience depression or suicidal thoughts, because once I finished all three chapters I started crying and cut myself. Still a very vivid experience, just maybe be careful if you struggle with those initial thoughts.
Not recommended Aug 21, 2026
free flashbang

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