A new horror tabletop RPG inspired by titles like Five Nights at Freddy's and featuring its own soundtrack.
The Darkness at the Brink of Ohio is an upcoming role-playing game in which players recount their experiences witnessing a radio talk show host turn into a terrifying, otherworldly being.
Taking inspiration from horror films such as In the Mouth of Madness (1994), Pontypool (2008), Color Out of Space (2019), and Altered States (1980), as well as the popular Five Nights at Freddy's video game series and other tabletop role-playing games such as Avery Adler's Ribbon Drive, The Darkness at the Brink of Ohio plays with the retro aesthetics of radio broadcasts and radio plays to create a horror TRPG that forces players to imagine seeing what they hear.
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Set in Akron, Ohio, players become one of three different characters, each of whom has decided to listen to this particular radio show for one reason or another. Players can choose from a clinical laboratory technician who communicates with colleagues via a logbook, a gas station attendant who keeps a private journal, and a security guard who records activity via a notebook.
While working the night shift (similar to the player character in several installments of the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise), the player listens to The Brink, a radio show hosted by DJ Mike on 106.6. As he continues to listen, the player character begins to witness a terrifying event in which DJ Mike undergoes a transformation from human to something not quite human.
Similar to a radio play, which is a drama told entirely through audio, The Darkness at the Brink of Ohio features a soundtrack that players will be required to listen to while playing the horror RPG. The soundtrack, which is available for free on YouTube, will immerse players in the role of a listener to this radio broadcast through music, spoken dialogue, and sound effects. Throughout the duration of the soundtrack, the audio will provide players with prompts to respond as their chosen character.
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The tabletop roleplaying game includes rules that players can use to guide their journal. As a solo roleplaying game, The Darkness at the Brink of Ohio differs from a traditional roleplaying game in that players are not dependent on a Game Master to narrate the story or other player characters to interact with. Instead, players will immerse themselves in the role of their solo character, using their journal to interact with the game and using the soundtrack to guide them.
The Darkness at the Brink of Ohio was created by Banana Chan, a game designer who has previously created horror RPGs such as Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall, a game about running a haunted Chinese restaurant in the US during the 1920s, and Suburban Consumption of the Monstrous alongside Sadia Bies. The editors behind the game are Yeonsoo Julian Kim and Karen Twelves, with vocals on The Darkness at the Brink of Ohio’s soundtrack performed by Aaron Catano-Saez, Jasmine Bhullar, Danny Quach, Austin Taylor, and Gavin Stenhouse, with music by Mabel Harper, Omar Star, and David Jones-Krause. The RPG will be published by Chan’s publishing studio Game and a Curry.
The Darkness at the Brink of Ohio crowdfunding campaign is live on Kickstarter until June 6. Backers will be able to get a physical copy of the role-playing game for a pledge of $30 (£24) to be delivered in March 2025. Alternatively, a digital PDF version of the game is available for a pledge of $15 (£12) to be delivered in October 2024.