If there's one horror dev that's been (rightfully) hogging the limelight this past year, it's Bloober Team. The Polish studio is horror's latest darling, having overcome its share of controversy to deliver two stunning new games in the last 12 months alone. But Silent Hill 2 Remake and Cronos: The New Dawn are just the first strides in its survival horror marathon. It turns out that Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno has something bigger in his sights: ushering a new era of Nintendo horror in the vein of the GameCube greats he's so inspired by.
After teasing that "Nintendo fans could take a look at Bloober Team" for a hint at the developer's next move, I'm immediately reminded that Switch-exclusive Project M is very much a thing. The upcoming horror game hasn't been officially announced yet, but Babieno mentioned it by name in a Polish interview last July as being "important due to our long-term plans". Bloober isn't playing around when it comes to the scale of its ambition, and if there's one studio that could succeed in helping Nintendo recapture its grittier youth, this could be it.
Something wicked this way comes?
Cronos: The New Dawn review: "An unabashed mash-up of survival horror greatest hits"
Nintendo's relationship with horror is a complex one. I've spoken in the past of my own struggles to take the Switch (and now the Switch 2) as seriously as Sony, Microsoft, and even Valve's consoles, and a lot of that is down to the kinds of games usually ascribed to Nintendo.
When I thought Emio: The Smiling Man was a horror game rather than a new Famicom Detective Club mystery thanks to its incredibly creepy teaser trailer, I was thrilled at the prospect of a homegrown horror game for the Switch.
That lofty dream soon came crashing down, but with Bloober positioning Project M as something pivotal for both it and Nintendo, I feel the familiar tug of excitement once more – and now I have the added assurance of Bloober's newly-minted track record to fortify it.
But even if the developer wasn't on such a winning streak – it's already been tapped by Konami to spearhead a Silent Hill 1 remake, too – something seems to be shifting in the darkness at Nintendo's home turf. Namely, something spooky.
Rumblings in the dark
Bloober Team is incredibly well positioned to lead Nintendo into its horror era...
The recent analog horror-inspired Pokemon Legends Z-A trailer is proof of that, with the usually child-friendly IP taking a markedly darker turn. Think found footage horror movies like The Blair Witch Project, but with pocket monster pals.
The terror-tinged trailer was so unexpected, it had our Games Editor hankering for a Resident Evil-style Game Freak offering – which in itself speaks to how quietly horrifying Pokemon has been all this time.
Is this a sign that Nintendo is willing to widen its scope with and get creepily creative with its list of upcoming Switch 2 games? Project M is indicative that it could be, at least a little. It's abundantly clear that Bloober Team is incredibly well positioned to lead Nintendo into its horror era now that it's garnered such a great reputation, and whatever that cryptic codename stands for, it'll likely be my reason to finally pick up a Switch 2 of my very own.
Not upgraded yet? Don't worry, because loads of upcoming Switch games are still set to land on the classic version!
