ILL: When Disgust Becomes Part of the Game Itself
The first time I watched a clip from ILL at Summer Game Fest in June 2025, my reaction wasn't the typical fear you get from creepy music or jump scares. It was genuine physical disgust. Armenian studio Team Clout—a team of roughly 50 developers—decided that simply scaring you isn't enough; they need to make you feel disgusted by everything you see. And that's exactly what ILL does.
Physics That Control Everything
What really sets ILL apart isn't just the visual disgust alone—though it's genuinely horrifying. The game is built on Unreal Engine 5, and physics is the backbone supporting everything: exploration, environmental puzzles, combat, even how enemy bodies react to every single hit.
The enemies—called Aberrations—don't meet their end peacefully. When you smash one with a brick or wrench a metal pipe from a fortress wall to use as a weapon, something precise and terrifying happens: its body reacts in real-time based on where and how you hit it. The dismemberment system is sophisticated and realistic—not just dramatic blood splatter, but limbs warping in real-time according to the damage.
Improvised Combat and Scarce Resources
Ammo is extremely limited in ILL. Sure, the fortress is packed with a diverse arsenal of firearms, but you won't find enough bullets to rely on them. This forces you to make a choice: either hoard what little ammunition you have for emergencies, or learn how to fight with improvised melee weapons.
And here's where physics comes back into play. The bricks lying on the ground aren't just decoration—you can throw them to stun enemies. The pipes you tear from the fortress walls become decent spears, but they degrade with use. Weapons need maintenance, upgrades, and modifications. All of this creates a realistic gameplay loop: you're not a professional soldier with unlimited supplies, you're a survivor trying to stay alive in a fortress controlled by a hostile force that's spawned grotesque creatures.
Exploration, Resource Management, and Puzzles
ILL isn't pure combat. The scenario revolves around exploring a massive research fortress, managing your inventory (space is limited), and hunting for resources. Environmental puzzles are woven into the physics—you might need to move objects around or use tools creatively to progress. Crafting is there too: you build equipment and weapons from the materials you find.
I also noticed that the developers didn't choose this direction randomly. The stated inspirations include Half-Life 2, Silent Hill, and Resident Evil—icons of survival and exploration in horror. But Team Clout added another influence: film—particularly horror movies from the '70s through '90s, plus practical effects and animatronics. This shows in every detail—nothing feels obviously artificial.
A Team with an Unforgettable Background
Team Clout aren't strangers to real horror. Their visual effects work has appeared in major projects like Until Dawn, IT: Welcome to Derry, and Longlegs. They have the expertise to craft disgust that sticks with you. Now they're taking that experience and building an entire game around it.
The publisher is Mundfish Powerhouse, a subsidiary of Mundfish—and the confirmed platforms right now are PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
When Does It Launch? And What Are My Expectations?
The official reveal was at Summer Game Fest in June 2025, and a story trailer dropped at State of Play in June 2026, confirming the launch window: 2027.
Honestly, I'm curious but cautious. The disgust, the physics, the improvised combat—it all sounds exciting. But visual horror alone doesn't make a complete experience. What matters now is whether the game delivers on story and mechanics in a way that makes the time you invest in it worthwhile.
Who Should I Recommend ILL To?
I'd recommend keeping an eye on ILL if you're a true survival horror fan—scenarios similar to Resident Evil or Silent Hill but with advanced physics. If you love exploration, puzzles, resource management, and combat that rewards smart thinking over ammunition, this might be the game you've been waiting for.
But I wouldn't recommend it if you're sensitive to blood or visual disgust. This game doesn't want to soften the brutality—it wants you to feel it. Everything is intentional, and everything is bold.
So for now, all we can do is wait until 2027 and hope the full experience matches the boldness we've seen in the clips.
