Chilling survival horror Kholat arrives today on PS4

The initial idea behing creating our own game was to make something a bit different. While searching for inspiration, we read many scary stories from different parts of the world. But the Dyatlov Pass incident was the one that we found most disturbing. It’s a real story, which involved real people and although many years that have passed, there’s still no explanation for it.

55 years ago in Russia’s northern Ural Mountains, a group of nine students from the Ural Polytechnic Institute departed on a difficult winter expedition to reach the Otorten mountain.

At first, their journey went according to the plan. However, on the seventh day of their trip, the weather conditions deteriorated. They lost their orientation and were forced to set up camp on the slope of a mountain called Kholat Syakhl. It was their last stop.

 
Three weeks later in Yekaterinburg, when their families raised the alarm after they didn’t receive a promised message announcing the expedition’s success, the first rescue expeditions were dispatched.

On 25th February 1959, an abandoned encampment is found. The tent was torn down and covered with snow, with all belongings left inside. Further examination showed that it was cut from inside. Footprints surrounding the site indicated that the crew had left it in hurry. They were barefoot.

Two sets of prints led to a forested area, where the searchers found an improvised fireplace – and two bodies. They were laying only in their underwear, with scars covering their limbs, suggesting that they had tried to climb a tree in panic.

Everyone was asking the same question: what could scare them so much?

 
The next three bodies were found scattered in an area a few hundred metres away. One of them had a deep skull fracture, but there was no other evidence of a struggle.

It took another two months – when the spring thaw came – to find the rest of the victims. The last four skiers were covered by a thick layer of ice and snow. Their autopsy led to even more puzzling conclusions – all of the bodies had severe internal injuries, caused by an unknown force, similar to a damage from a serious car accident. No external damage or bruises were present, besides a tongue ripped out from one victim’s mouth and a strange, orange skin colour.

Lots of theories were put forward. Was it local tribesmen? An avalanche? An animal attack? In the end all of them seemed to make no sense, offering more questions than answers.

The real factor behind this tragic course of events remains unexplained to this day. What really happened? Maybe the answer still waits to be discovered, deep under the snow.

Our game, based on these events, launches on PS4 today with a 10% discount for PS Plus members during launch week.