Bloober Team has unveiled Onyx: The Dark Grip, a new psychological horror game exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2, during a recent Nintendo Direct. The studio behind the Silent Hill 2 Remake and Cronos: The New Dawn is heading back to a smaller, more intimate style of horror, and the reveal trailer already hints at some unusual design choices that set it apart from the developer’s recent output.
Onyx: The Dark Grip is scheduled for release sometime in 2027, though Bloober Team hasn’t locked in a specific month or quarter yet. That vagueness is common for games this early in their marketing cycle, but it does mean fans keen for a return to slow-burn, atmospheric horror will need to wait a while longer for firm details.
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What Onyx: The Dark Grip Is About
The story follows a man named Holden, who finds himself trapped in a fog-choked town after being “beckoned by a voice,” according to the reveal. From there, players guide him through the settlement’s more unsettling corners, piecing together what’s actually happening by exploring locations that look distinctly unwelcoming.
One detail that stands out is Holden’s ability to read the minds of other people he encounters along the way. That mechanic suggests Onyx: The Dark Grip will lean on psychological unease and perspective-shifting storytelling rather than pure jump scares, a style Bloober Team has leaned into across much of its catalogue.
Handheld-Only Horror With Touch and Tilt Controls
Perhaps the most distinctive element revealed so far is the control scheme. Onyx: The Dark Grip uses touchscreen and tilt mechanics that require the game to be played in handheld mode, ruling out docked play entirely for at least part of the experience.
That’s a deliberate design decision rather than a technical limitation, and it plays into the idea of horror as something personal and portable. Rather than a scare experienced on a lounge room television, Bloober Team appears to be building an experience meant to be held, tilted, and touched directly, which could make certain sequences feel more physically immersive than a typical controller-based horror game.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Developer | Bloober Team |
| Platform | Nintendo Switch 2 (exclusive) |
| Genre | Psychological horror |
| Protagonist | Holden |
| Release window | 2027 (exact date not yet confirmed) |
| Notable mechanic | Touchscreen and tilt controls, handheld mode only |
Bloober Team’s Return to Smaller-Scale Horror
Bloober Team has spent the last few years working on considerably bigger productions. The Silent Hill 2 Remake was a major undertaking that carried the weight of reviving one of horror gaming’s most respected titles, and it landed well with both critics and longtime fans of the series. Cronos: The New Dawn followed soon after, and it too has been received positively.
Onyx: The Dark Grip marks a shift back toward the studio’s earlier, more compact projects, the kind of games that put Bloober Team on the map before it took on remake duties and larger original titles. The studio had already confirmed it was working on a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive prior to this reveal, so the announcement itself wasn’t a total surprise, even if the specifics were kept under wraps. Game industry watchers know how often unreleased game builds have leaked out before official reveals, so it’s notable that Bloober Team managed to keep this one largely under control until the Direct.
What to Expect Before Launch
With 2027 still some way off, details on Onyx: The Dark Grip are likely to trickle out gradually rather than arrive in one large info dump. Nintendo and its partner studios have generally taken this approach with Switch 2 exclusives, lining up game support ahead of new hardware launches to keep momentum building over a long lead time.
For now, what’s confirmed is the setting, the protagonist, the mind-reading mechanic, and the handheld-only control scheme built around touch and tilt input. Whether Onyx: The Dark Grip can match the critical reception of Bloober Team’s recent bigger titles remains to be seen, but the pedigree behind it gives horror fans on Nintendo Switch 2 good reason to keep the game on their radar heading into 2027.
