Some places look like they came straight out of a horror game, and the Island of the Dolls in Xochimilco, Mexico, is one of them. Now, this unsettling location is inspiring Where Dolls Hang, a new first-person psychological horror game.

The project is being developed by Steelkrill Studio, an independent studio looking to take advantage of the eerie sight of dolls hanging from trees and buildings to create an even more disturbing experience.

The concept focuses on creating paranoia. Rather than filling every minute with jump scares, the game aims to make players constantly question what they have just seen and wonder whether they are truly alone.

The Island of the Dolls Becomes a Video Game in This Intriguing Project

The developer drew inspiration from the famous island located in the canals of Xochimilco, known for the countless dolls hanging from trees and various structures. Over the years, the site has become one of Mexico’s most unusual and frightening locations, especially because of the stories and legends surrounding it.

In Where Dolls Hang, exploring a supposedly abandoned forest is enough to make players feel uncomfortable. Dolls appear practically everywhere, and some may not stay in the same place for very long. Players will have to pay attention to their surroundings, as not everything that looks like part of the scenery necessarily is.

However, Where Dolls Hang is not intended to recreate the actual location or retell its legends. The team has created its own fictional setting, using the Island of the Dolls’ distinctive aesthetic and imagery to build a story centered on mystery and psychological horror.

Investigation will be essential. Rather than simply running away from monsters, players will have to explore their surroundings, search for clues, photograph evidence, and gradually uncover what happened at the location.

A camera will be one of the main tools available during the adventure. As players venture deeper into the forest and explore abandoned buildings, they will encounter increasingly strange situations.

The dolls will be one of the main sources of tension. Some will remain motionless, while others may appear in different positions after players stop looking at them. This small detail is designed to turn even an apparently safe area into a place players cannot trust.

The Game Will Bring Real-Life Objects Into a Horror World

One of the most intriguing aspects of the project is that some of the objects featured in Where Dolls Hang were not designed solely from the studio’s imagination.

Steelkrill Studio used photographs of real objects and dolls as references to create several 3D models that were subsequently incorporated into the game. This means some discoveries will have a direct connection to objects that exist outside the virtual world.

The concept even plays with this idea to blur the line between reality and fiction: you might first encounter a doll in the game and later discover the real photograph that inspired it.

But the secrets do not end there. During their exploration, players will also be able to find VHS tapes featuring classic movies, which can be played on the televisions scattered throughout the environments. One of the tapes contains Night of the Living Dead, meaning players will even have moments when they can sit down and watch a movie within the game itself.

Where Dolls Hang builds on that very sense of vulnerability. While players are investigating, watching a movie, or simply exploring a room, something could be happening just outside their field of vision.

The studio wants to use one of Mexico’s most unsettling locations to create a horror experience built around exploration, investigation, and, above all, the feeling that something might be watching you even when you cannot see it.