- You Won't Escape Bundle - 3 September 2025
Do you like murder houses? Want MORE murder houses? Pick this bundle up for double the horror escapes at 90% of the price.The Tartarus Key: There’s no way out for Alex Young who wakes up to find herself locked in a strange mansion filled with puzzles, traps, and cameras following her every move. Whether she and her companions live or die, and find the truth behind their abduction, is up to you in this first-person mystery thriller.Puppet House: A puzzle-adventure horror with escape room elements. A freak ritual creates a killer puppet, murdering anyone who enters the ventriloquist’s mansion. Detective Rick, seeking missing locals, will soon face his greatest horror.
- Badges, Trading Cards, Emotes and more! - 5 July 2023
Hi everyone, just a quick update to let you know that a whole bunch of community items just went live! We've got trading cards, badges, emotes, backgrounds, and even animated avatars for each character, complete with a custom radio border. ːthumbsup_ttkː If you've already played the game, you should find cards dropping into your inventory soon. ːgrin_ttkː
- Patch V01.01b - 27 June 2023
Hi Everyone! We're rolling out V01.01b, this patch fixed a variety of issues that players have identified! These could potentially be considered spoilers, so if you're looking to avoid anything regarding areas of the game, check back later, and rest easy knowing the game's just a little better than it was before! Office: Some players never found the drawer key, and without it had to brute force the safe code. The drawer key has been moved to a more visible location, and enlarged slightly. Making it much harder to miss! Bathroom: Breaking the mirror sound effect has been reduced. It should be slightly less ear piercing now! Bathroom: The text on the mirror would still load in, even after the mirror had been destroyed. It doesn't now! Closet: The broken wire, which is necessary to progress was too hard to see. We've added a new sparks VFX to make it harder to miss. Consultation: The scrat…
- The RPS Game Club pick for June is The Tartarus Key! - 6 June 2023
Following on from the lovely space highjinks of Citizen Sleeper, Katharine has unwisely allowed me to take the wheel on this month's RPS Game Club , and thus I am steering this baby right into fiendish puzzle town. Next stop: The Tartarus Key ! It's only recently come out, so we're fresh to death this time - literally, because in it you're trapped in a mansion full of SAW-esque murder-puzzles. I really enjoyed this game, with its low-poly PS1 style, and its vibe of being an early 00s thriller that would probably star e.g. Morgan Freeman hunting down a twisted serial killer played by e.g. Hugh Jackman. But in this metaphor, I am the twisted monster, and I have trapped both you and my colleagues and am forcing you all to play this game I like. Read more
- The Tartarus Key is Now Available! - 31 May 2023
After years of development, we are incredibly proud (and nervous!) to say that The Tartarus Key is now available! We hope you enjoy yourself, as much as anyone trapped inside a mansion with elaborate death traps and obscure motivations can. Don't forget to grab the soundtrack to enjoy some impeccable murder vibes as well! It's always tricky to write these posts, as it can feel like you're just echoing the words of every developer out there who puts all the time and effort it does into making a game. "We hope you like it." "We hope you have fun." "Don't forget to review it!" All of those are obviously things we feel and want to say - making and releasing a game is always hard and scary, even if you aren't making a horror game. But more than anything, what we want to say is thank you. The excitement and curiosity of everyone who has ever sent us a message, shared our game, or even just wi…
- The Tartarus Key review: an absolutely nails thriller-puzzler that's worth the effort - 31 May 2023
If you woke up in a mysterious mansion, with no memory of how you got there and only a walkie-talkie and a bunch of security cameras for company, how d'you reckon you'd handle it? Personally I know, sure as eggs is eggs, that I would absolutely go to pieces. I'm not hitting the end credits of The Tartarus Key in real life, but fortunately, it's a nails thriller puzzle game that fuses PS1-style retro graphics with Saw-esque murder traps. Plus, you know, it's only about six hours end to end, which isn't bad for a semi-magical kidnap plot. In this situation I am not me, of course, but Alex Young, and Alex upon escaping a locked study (an easy warm-up puzzle involving postcards) she finds and frees Torres, an ex-cop turned private detective, who sets up a base of operations around the mysterious mansions main fireplace. From there game's rhythm is clearing the different wings of the house b…
- Dev Log: Texture Trickery - 15 May 2023
We wanted to take a moment to talk further about some of the design choices we made in The Tartarus Key that we think adds to the game's charm and appeal, such as the deliberately low resolution of the game's graphics and textures. We made a conscious decision to embrace an aesthetic inspired by PlayStation 1 visuals for the game, both allowing us to more quickly and effectively create assets as a small team, as well as create a unique and memorable atmosphere. On top of that, we love the gritty, low-fi look that this style provides! One of the unexpected benefits of working with low-resolution textures is the artistic freedom it gives us. Because players would be unable to read small text on assets, we've had a lot of fun filling the game world with silly and absurd labels and designs. For example, you might find food cans with labels like "Brand - It's food probably, wow!" and "Sardin…
- Dev Log: Maps - 8 May 2023
In The Tartarus Key, we take great care to ensure that every aspect of our game is designed with the player experience in mind. One detail that we're particularly proud of is the map system, which we've designed to be both functional and immersive. Early in the game, Alex is given a map by Torres to help navigate the mansion. However, we didn't want to create a standard, boring map that simply showed players where to go. Instead, we wanted to create a map that felt like a real object in the game world, with its own personality and quirks that shift and change as the game progresses. That's where Alex comes in. As players explore new areas, Alex will add them to the map in real time, creating a sense of immersion and exploration that really brings the game world to life. As you discover rooms, solve puzzles, or experience certain events, she'll leave little notes commenting on what she's…
- Classic Resident Evil horror returns with a first-person twist - 3 May 2023
The Tartarus Key is an upcoming horror game that channels the mansion setting of Resident Evil, PS1 cutscenes of Metal Gear Solid, and puzzles of Silent Hill to create something totally new, and it has a demo, trailer, and impending release date you should absolutely dive into. Don't sleep on The Tartarus Key . Read the rest of the story...
- Coming May 31st: The Tartarus Key! - 3 May 2023
A dark and stormy night, a group of strangers, and one seriously strange house... The Tartarus Key reveals its mysteries when it launches on May 31st for Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and XBox! It's been a long road getting to this point, and we're so excited to finally be able to share our game with you. The Tartarus Key is our love letter to classic horror thrillers of the PSOne era and beyond, and we hope you'll enjoy your stay inside its walls more than Alex does. (Hard to blame someone for being a little sour when they've just been kidnapped, we suppose!) You'll also be able to nab the game's original soundtrack on launch day, composed by the amazingly talented Josie Brechner. Thank you to everyone for your support so far! If you haven't already, why not try downloading the game's free demo? It contains the story's opening act, and sets the stage for what's to come. Don't fo…
- Dev Log: Music - 1 May 2023
Music is a vital element in setting the tone and atmosphere of any game, and developing the soundtrack for The Tartarus Key was one of the pivotal processes in bringing our vision to life. Working alongside the incredibly talented composer, Josie Brechner, was a true privilege, and her outstanding work spoke for itself. One of the many highlights of collaborating with her was witnessing how she interpreted our minimal direction and somehow managed to create precisely what we envisioned. At the outset of the game's development, we had the initial areas mapped out and planned, but a significant portion of the game was still in the “grey box” phase. We provided Josie with detailed story information for each character and area, as well as video walkthroughs to illustrate where the puzzles would go. Additionally, we gave her a "colour" to represent each character's personality traits - for e…
- Dev Log: Puzzle Progression and Mansion Gating - 24 April 2023
We put a lot of thought into the design aspect of gating access to the mansion and opening it up, as well as puzzle difficulty, to create the best possible player experience. Initially, the player is only allowed in a small set of rooms, which unlock one after the other. We consider this the introductory tutorial area of the game, where players can get a feel for the mechanics and story without feeling overwhelmed or lost. After meeting Torres, the game opens up massively, allowing players to wander the halls of the mansion as they see fit. While many doors are locked at first, players can get a greater sense of scale and begin to understand the layout of the mansion. Our intention was to have two tracks of puzzles available to the player after the tutorials, so that if they got stuck, they could go off and try another room. The map comes in handy here, as it highlights rooms of interes…
- Dev Log: Paintings Puzzle - 17 April 2023
Today, we'd like to take a moment to share some insights into the puzzle development of The Tartarus Key. During the early stages of the game's creation, we experimented with many different ideas of varying complexity and depth. One of these concepts was a puzzle that involved swapping paintings of horrifying creatures to unlock certain areas of the game. As you can imagine, the process of designing these creatures was both fascinating and challenging. Basing the designs on historical demonic beings, we aimed to create a sense of dread and unease in the players as they uncovered and examined these terrifying demons. We painted each creature with the goal of eliciting a unique emotional response, ranging anywhere from disgust to outright terror. Unfortunately, during playtesting, we discovered that the puzzle was too confusing and detracted from the overall experience. As a result, we ma…
- Dev Log: Text Accessibility - 10 April 2023
In The Tartarus Key, we place a lot of emphasis on story and narrative, which means that players will be reading a lot of text throughout the game. As a result, we wanted to make the reading experience as comfortable and accessible as possible for as many players as we could. To achieve this goal, we implemented several accessibility features that players can toggle in the options menu. Today, we’d like to walk you through some of them! Our first example is text backgrounds. If players ever have trouble reading the text on screen, they can choose to add a solid black background to all dialogue and narration, which makes the text easier to read due to the high contrast. We also added the option to change the colour of the text itself from the default yellow and red to standard black and white. This can be particularly helpful for players who may have trouble distinguishing between certai…
- Dev Log: Sigil Symbology - 3 April 2023
We are thrilled to reveal further details on The Tartarus Key, and delve into the mysterious and enigmatic world of Sigil design in the game. The Tartarus Key is infused with Symbols, Sigils, Magical Circles, and other esoteric drawings. Our designs are rooted in real historical alchemy, chemistry, and demonology from the Ancient and Middle Ages. Referencing historic Grimoires on demonology such as the "Key of Solomon", as well as real medieval alchemy and transmutation concepts, we've researched the intricate nature of these designs, ensuring that they are both authentic and compelling. Our research ensured that each design was not only unique but also aligned with the historical and medieval alchemical concepts that served as the foundation of our work. All while adding our own mysterious twists to enhance their mystique, as well as more modern aesthetics. Sigils play a crucial, but h…
- Dev Log: Mirrors! - 28 March 2023
One of the most interesting aspects of our game, The Tartarus Key, is the implementation of reflective mirrors. While most modern games rely on screen space reflections or render targets to achieve realistic mirror effects, we decided to take a different approach and draw inspiration from classic games like Mario 64. For some of the mirrors in the game—take the bathroom mirror, for example—we duplicated the entire room and cut a hole in the wall for the player to look through. This process is lengthy, but it allows us to achieve a realistic mirror effect, while also remaining authentic to the era of games that inspired us, without using any camera trickery. The end result was worth the effort, as the mirrors look great, function how we hoped, and during playtesting were a feature that stood out to players. A surprising number of players would comment on the mirrors, and other devs would…
- Dev Log #3: Atmosphere vs Jumpscare - 21 March 2022
Hey everyone! We thought this was a great opportunity for us to talk a bit about how we approached some of the scarier elements of The Tartarus Key, and why we often went with creepy vs cacophonous when it comes to our scares. When we first started developing the game, we wanted it to be entirely devoid of jumpscares. While a lot of people really love them, we know for some people they can make a game challenging or unpleasant to play, so we were determined to avoid them completely. And we did, for much of development! Atmosphere is about building tension and fear overtime, through the visuals and sound. This is harder to pull off and involves making something that appears scary in the mind of the player. The same kind of fear that people feel looking into a dark room, it's more about what could be there, regardless of if it's rational or not. Surprisingly, we found this really limiting…
- Dev Log #2: People Then vs Now - 25 January 2022
Hey everyone! Dora here, your friendly neighborhood producer. While the team is hard at work polishing puzzles and blasting bugs, I thought I'd step in to share an update. The Tartarus Key has been in development with us for over a year, and in that time I've seen the game change in some pretty big ways. Some of these come down to scrapping puzzle designs and rebuilding them from the ground up, or reworking the mansion's layout. But one of the more interesting examples I can give is how the cast has changed their style. Our intrepid reluctant protagonist, Alex Young, is an easy example. This is Alex as you'll meet her in the game. An average young woman stuck in an unlikely scenario. But in the beginning, the team experimented with her personal style in a way that made her look a little less average, and a little more cool and capable. Someone who looked a little tougher in a way that s…
- Tartarus Key Dev Log #1: Reinventing Retro - 21 December 2021
CW: flashing lights Hi there, Tartarus Key fans–Leo and Kevin here, and happy holidays! Vertical Reach has been hard at work on the game, so we wanted to give you a closer look at our progress throughout development, starting with the decisions and considerations that went into the game’s iconic visual style, which adds so much to the haunting vibes of the game. The Tartarus Key uses a retro aesthetic strongly influenced by PS1 classics, like the iconic Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Multiple horror series got their start on the system; as a result, many people find the look and genre impossible to separate. There’s something truly fascinating, off-putting, eerie—any uneasy or spooky adjective would work here—about the look of PS1 games. Growing up, even a game like Spyro could suddenly look at a lot more menacing after dark. We’ve enjoyed trying to imbue The Tartarus Key with that same…
- The Tartarus Key Demo Update - 6 October 2021
As we enter the final day of this Steam Next Fest, I wanted to thank everyone who has played The Tartarus Key demo. We hugely appreciate the feedback we've received over on our discussions page as well as on our Discord server! We're listening! The demo is still available to play, so jump in! We've even taken the chance to update the demo with the following changes: Added PS3 & PS4 controller support. If you're not using Steam Input, you'll no longer spin in circles. The detective who was once suspiciously missing for a cutscene has returned. Fixed some spelling mistakes; thank you to everyone who has pointed them out! Thank you again for all the support! Don't forget to wishlist the game on Steam if you haven't yet. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1431850/The_Tartarus_Key/ Until next time, Kevin!
