Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗The Black Whale
Marrit · Published by Marrit
Content notice: The game contains images of death, suicide, mentions of snuff films, and drug use.
Very Positive — 86% positive (102 reviews) · 11 achievements
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
The factory chip began to malfunction. Your horrible headaches don’t bother anyone in this dystopian world. “Black Whale”, the attractive white powder, is the only thing that can stop the pain. And show you the life without the horrors of harsh reality.
Indie, Free To Play · 2026 · More free games
About this game
You are a worker at the “White Whale” factory. The dystopian world of the future reminds you of the most horrible times from the past. The poverty that reigns in the country and is practically all-consuming does not allow anyone like you to climb the social ladder.
You have a small chip implanted in your brain, automating your work. Annoying and uncomfortable vibrations always causedaversion. However, once you come to the job, it seems to you that your head is about to split. It hurts right in the middle of the brain, where the board is. After barely making it to the medical unit, you realize there's no help coming. No one is gonna help you.
You were agonizing for several days when you suddenly found out about “The Black Whale,” the only drug that can relieve the pain. At the same time, it sends you on an amazing journey on the back of flying whales.
Although there is a problem, “The Black Whale” is very expensive. You have to find money. No matter where, no matter how.
GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
The Black Whale is a first-person psychological linear horror that combines the elements of exploration and story progression.
The main character, suffering from horrible pains, can do nothing but try to get enough money to buy another dose of “The Black Whale”.
Plot progression. Observe the moral and physical fall of the main character. Follow the story, at the same time, trying to find anything that you can sell. Notes, NPCs, and other interactable things that will tell you the story of this dystopian world.
After using “The Black Whale”, you come to another world, far away from all the cruelty and suffering of the harsh reality. The most beautiful creatures in the world—black whales—allow you to ride them and taste life once again.
Returning to reality. You understand that you need more. Sell your property, gradually descending nearer and nearer to the social bottom.
The core gameplay loop consists of exploring locations, reading notes, interacting with NPCs, finding required items, and completing simple objectives.
KEY FEATURES
A short psychological horror game (approximately 20 minutes long). It includes the full story experience, several in-game days, and multiple locations to explore.
Dive into the deepest social bottom. Being a junkie, you have nothing that can stop you on the way to get the new dose.
Sell your property and steal others’. You have to find everything you can to get money from. When you have nothing left, there will be no choice but to turn to theft.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS: Microsoft Windows 10 or higher
- Processor: Intel or AMD CPU
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: 512 VRAM
- Storage: 1 GB available space
Supported Languages
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
About violence in games and my motivation + The new game
Hello everyone! It’s been a while since the last update. The exam break is over, and I started devoting more time to development. As the release date approaches (although the exact date hasn’t been announced yet, it is coming very soon), I would like to not only mention the project but also discuss something more general.My journey into game development began with David Szymanski, an amazing developer, and his games — Butcher’s Creek, Iron Lung, Squirrel Stapler, The Pony Factory, DUSK, etc. I love this man. In most of his games (especially in Butcher’s Creek), violence is the key element of both storytelling and gameplay. Graphic, grotesque. Not always naturalistic, but still.An original source of inspiration for THE WELL (my first game) was Squirrel Stapler — a deliberately meaningless, surreal, and just bizarre game. That was the thing that hooked me. And also the violence level.After THE WELL and several unfinished projects, I started moving towards a more “alive” approach to storytelling. If there is violence in the game, it is often a part of the atmosphere, rather than the game’s foundation (see splatterpunk). Despite the bloody and very gloomy scenes, it has become more important to me to tell a meaningful story. I hope I can finally draw that line, finishing My Little Hell—the very personal project (not only because it will be paid, ha-ha) and a serious one. There is a drop in surrealism (I don’t think that you will ever play any project from me without it); it turned out to feel more alive. At least, it’s my opinion. The game will be short, but longer than previous ones, and will cost $3.I hope you’ll like it :)The game is not perfect, but your reviews help me create something even more beautiful in the future.Add it to your wishlist!Read full article on Community Announcements (Marrit)AnnouncementsOfficial
The original version of The Black Whale
Hi, everyone!When The Black Whale first came out, a person who had played the very first version left a review for the game.Back then, quite a while ago, it was uploaded to itch.io as part of a Game Jam. It was a 2D point-and-click adventure based on the same (albeit slightly pared-down) story.I think that anyone who enjoyed the current 3D version (and even those who didn’t) should give the original a try!It was co-developed with three wonderful developers: Sonya Borderguard (art), Ichit (code), and RaisinRiot (music).I hope you enjoy this version, too! By the way, Sonya Borderguard is a solo developer herself and recently released a point-and-click adventure in a Slavic folklore setting—Alive. She’d be happy if you played it :)Read full article on Community Announcements (Marrit)AnnouncementsOfficial
THE NEW GAME
Hey everyone!I wanted to notify you that, at the same time as I'm working on SNUFF, a horror immersive sim, I’m also developing another short psychological horror game called My Little Hell. Development is currently in its final stages, and the release is scheduled for roughly the beginning of August.This place is his little hell. After everything that was done, he will spend as much time here as his personal devil wishes. The only problem is that his brain turned completely to mush. He doesn’t remember what happened. He doesn’t even remember his own name. Add to wishlists :3Read full article on Community Announcements (Marrit)AnnouncementsOfficial
NEW GAME + DISCORD SERVER
Hey everyone!I’d like to announce that my new project is currently in the early stages of development. It's called SNUFF, and it's a horror game in the immersive simulator genre.Los Frontera. The American center of snuff production. The bastards in the industry took the last thing that brought any joy to this miserable life. All-consuming hatred drives you down the path of war. Destroy everything they have. Destroy everyone responsible for her death.Discord ServerI haven't really mentioned it or talked about it much before, but we have a Discord server! If you want to chat or ask about my projects, feel free to join :)https://discord.com/invite/SYm9naewBPRead full article on Community Announcements (Marrit)AnnouncementsOfficial
RUSSIAN LOCALIZATION + FREEZE FIXES!
Hey everyone!Development of a new, much more ambitious game is currently underway — I’ll be able to share more about it soon :) Meanwhile, I decided to work on my previous projects, adding the Russian localization and fixing the existing bugs. Russian was previously added to THE WELL, along with the large patch.If you find any flaws or bugs in the new version, don’t hesitate to write them in the comments under this post or in the community section. I will read that and will try to promptly fix shortcomings. RUSSIAN LOCALIZATIONAll monologues, dialogues, and notes translated.UI translated.Environmental text (wall writings) translated.Achievements translated.FREEZE FIXESThe issue of frequent freezes during the first playthrough has been resolved.The interaction system has been redesigned.Instead of a highlight, a tooltip (\ in large font) now appears in the center of the screen when you hover over an interactive object.Read full article on Community Announcements (Marrit)
