In the sea of upcoming games set to release this year, one game has caught the attention of the gaming community. The game titled ILL, a first-person survival horror, emphasizes limited resources and tactical survival. Developed by Team Clout, a studio that is part of the Mundfish Powerhouse program, it is expected to release in the second half of this year on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S consoles. This game first attracted attention back in 2021 when the founders of Team Clout began posting short, hyper-realistic clips on social media. The extremely realistic body horror, eerie atmosphere, and brutal animations generated great excitement among horror genre fans. After the initial excitement, the project entered a phase where many doubted its reality. Since the founders are primarily visual effects (VFX) experts, theories emerged that the game might not exist at all, and that the videos were just pre-rendered animations made to attract donations. Actual gameplay videos were rare and consisted of technical demonstrations rather than concrete gameplay. However, the game received its first major official trailer at the Summer Game Fest in June 2025.
It must be acknowledged that the game looks truly impressive in the trailer. ILL will rely on a constant sense of unease and disgust. Combat seems difficult, ammunition will likely be limited, and every encounter with an enemy poses a significant threat. The monsters are often deformed humans with excess limbs, growths, and creepy transformations. One of the key features is the extremely detailed damage system on enemies. The bodies of the monsters react to every bullet, tearing apart and changing shape in real-time. The developers also demonstrated a high level of environmental destruction, where gunfire leaves permanent marks on walls and objects. We hope that the developers will manage to translate the atmosphere from the trailer into the actual gameplay and that we will receive one of the most realistic horror games ever this year.
