Talking to your friends is normally pretty important in a co-op survival game. In Voidwood, it could also be the reason all of you end up dead.
Santa Barbara Games has shown off new gameplay from its upcoming co-op survival horror game, giving us a much better look at what happens once you and your friends wander into its deceptively colorful forest. The short answer? You’ll want to keep your voice down.
Coming to PC via Steam in 2027, Voidwood is built around the fact that the creatures hunting you can hear what you’re saying. Communication can help keep your group alive, but shouting at exactly the wrong moment can also tell something considerably less friendly exactly where to find you.
The Forest Is Always Listening
Voidwood supports one to four players, casting you as children trapped inside a cursed forest with a rather worrying history of not letting its visitors leave.
During the day, things are at least slightly less terrifying. Players can explore the forest, gather supplies, craft equipment, and decide how far they’re willing to venture before daylight disappears. Going deeper can mean finding the things you desperately need, but every extra minute spent exploring leaves less time to get somewhere safe before night arrives. That’s where things get considerably worse.
Once darkness falls, the forest sends The Beast after you. This isn’t another enemy you can surround with four players and repeatedly hit until it falls over, either. The Beast is an apex predator that tracks players through sound, and at least initially, you can’t fight it. Your options are hiding, running, and hopefully not having one member of the group scream into their microphone at exactly the wrong time.
That last part is important because Voidwood uses player communication as part of its survival mechanics. You might need to call out supplies, warn somebody about danger, or tell everyone where you’re heading next, but the forest is listening to those conversations too. Suddenly, the friend who never stops talking becomes a much bigger problem.
Survive the Night, Then Do It Again
Surviving one night doesn’t mean you’ve escaped Voidwood. Players return to camp between expeditions, where they can regroup and craft new tools and equipment before heading back into the forest better prepared than before.
The game also uses an ever-changing forest, so simply memorizing the safest route isn’t going to solve everything. Each trip means weighing how much you still need against how much time you have left, then deciding whether pushing a little farther is worth potentially being caught outside after dark.
There’s a bigger mystery behind all of this, too. Your group isn’t the first collection of children to become trapped here, and exploring deeper into the forest will reveal what happened to those who came before you and why none of them managed to escape.
You Can Try Voidwood at PAX West
The new gameplay arrives as Voidwood makes its first public hands-on appearance at PAX West 2026. Santa Barbara Games is showing the game at Booth #744 in the Arch Building throughout the event, which runs from September 4-7 at the Seattle Convention Center.
It’s the debut game from Santa Barbara Games, a small independent studio whose team has experience at EA, Riot, Bethesda, Unity, and Amazon. The developer is also self-publishing Voidwood when it arrives next year.
There’s currently no exact release date beyond 2027, but Voidwood is available to wishlist on Steam now.