Is When the Darkness comes free?

Yes — When the Darkness comes is free to play, so you can install and play it without buying anything.

Is When the Darkness comes Steam Deck compatible?

Mostly. Valve rates When the Darkness comes Playable on Steam Deck: it runs, but may need some manual tweaking — a community controller layout, or zooming in on small text.

Can I play When the Darkness comes on Mac?

Not natively — Steam lists no macOS version of When the Darkness comes. Mac players would need a cloud gaming service or a Windows compatibility layer.

Is When the Darkness comes multiplayer?

No — Steam lists When the Darkness comes as single-player only.

Is When the Darkness comes on PC Game Pass?

No — When the Darkness comes is not on PC Game Pass right now.

When the Darkness comes

Name: When the Darkness comes
Brand: Sirhaian
Availability: InStock

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.

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Very Positive92% · 8,426

Best price

Free

Get it free on Steam

This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →

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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

When the Darkness comes — questions & answers

Is When the Darkness comes free?: Yes — When the Darkness comes is free to play, so you can install and play it without buying anything.
Is When the Darkness comes Steam Deck compatible?: Mostly. Valve rates When the Darkness comes Playable on Steam Deck: it runs, but may need some manual tweaking — a community controller layout, or zooming in on small text.
Can I play When the Darkness comes on Mac?: Not natively — Steam lists no macOS version of When the Darkness comes. Mac players would need a cloud gaming service or a Windows compatibility layer.
Is When the Darkness comes multiplayer?: No — Steam lists When the Darkness comes as single-player only.
Is When the Darkness comes on PC Game Pass?: No — When the Darkness comes is not on PC Game Pass right now.

What Steam players say

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

✦ AI summary

When the Darkness comes is a deliberately unsettling psychological experience that players praise for its clever mechanics and impactful narrative delivered through a narrator speaking directly to the player, but it comes with serious emotional content warnings that multiple players emphasize should be taken seriously—particularly for anyone struggling with depression, anxiety, or suicidal ideation, as reviewers report it can trigger genuine distress.

Recommended Sep 27, 2026

played this in 2022 apprently should have taken it more serriosly should have seeked help before it was too late i overdosed on purpose twice in a week psych ward and etc i wont bore you with it just one thing they care. i didint think they would but they care after i broke they helped me my parents freinds etc all who i have thought hated me or didint think i exist i was wrong. i wasted 5 years on waiting to die 5 years of doing nothing but being drunk or on pills watching and romanticazing depression is an addiction too hence why im writing this if you have those thoughts yes you have heard this a milion times *seek help* and yes that is what you should do if they wont listen scream that you need help fight for ur life do not do what i did i survived just by pure luck you may not thats not the worst part that i want to warn you about 5 years ware wasted im 21 now 5 years or more i was in that state i could have made games more art explored who i was insteed i let depression win and here i am rebuilding my life trying with the help of others trying to stay alive yet again there is still time use it for good do not rot like i have do not waste your life do not let IT…

1 found this helpful

Recommended Oct 6, 2026

what am i?

Recommended Sep 29, 2026

This game is absolute Peek, so good!

Recommended Sep 24, 2026

that's my life :(

Recommended Sep 22, 2026

This game throws you in a very Intense immersive situation. its not for everyone. but My god. after my dad passed yesterday it actually told me some things about myself... Highly suggest you play this game with the goal of finding its meaning rather then beating it.

Recommended Sep 21, 2026

Love this game- just recommended it to a friend and now I might play through it again myself.

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