Prepare to Set Your Foot Inside Dark Pals: The 1st Floor
Skunx Games, founded by Winston van Graafeiland, creator of the Horror Skunx YouTube channel with more than 8.5 million subscribers, has officially announced its debut title, Dark Pals: The 1st Floor. The first-person mascot horror puzzle adventure will launch on Steam sometime in 2026.
The game unfolds inside an abandoned children’s mental health asylum that the developers left to decay in the 1980s. Players explore its eerie corridors, solve environmental puzzles, and uncover the truth behind the facility’s dark past. As they move deeper into the building, they encounter disturbing mascot-like creatures that lurk just out of sight, turning every corner into a tense encounter.
Founder Winston van Graafeiland shared his excitement about bringing the project to life: “We’ve been itching for five years to make something that is truly our own. A project conceived and created entirely by us. Horror Skunx viewers have been asking for this for years, and we’ve finally managed to assemble a team of talented people to make this dream a reality!”
In Dark Pals: The 1st Floor, players are joined by Inky the Ink Blaster, a mysterious companion manifested through an ink-shooting toy gun. Together, they solve clever environmental puzzles, unlock new sections of the asylum, and gradually piece together the origins of the creatures haunting the facility.
The game also features a transmedia approach to storytelling. Additional lore will unfold through a dedicated Horror Skunx video series, while YouTuber Chazington appears in-game through projected videos that help guide players through the asylum’s unsettling mysteries.