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Watch trailer on Steam ↗Black Hollow
PolyPixel Interactive · Published by PolyPixel Interactive · Official site ↗
Last updated 29 Sept 2026
Become the doctor the plague fears. Black Hollow is a first-person dark-fantasy horde-survival roguelite where you slaughter infected hordes, harvest their ichor, and forge devastating builds before the next bell toll.
Action, RPG · 2026 · More free games
About this game
Black Hollow is a dark fantasy roguelite FPS where you play as a lone plague doctor defending a remote farmstead from waves of plague-stricken villagers. Fight through the night with your staff, lantern, and unstable plague mixtures, then use the remains of the infected to unlock new attacks, potions, and upgrades at an ancient runestone.
The town of Black Hollow has fallen to the Hollow Plague, a strange sickness that twists its victims into violent, rabid, demon-like creatures. As the last plague doctor still searching for a cure, you have retreated to an abandoned farmstead to continue your research. Each night, the infected come through the fields. Each corpse leaves behind plague ichor, organs, and corrupted materials that may bring you closer to understanding the sickness.
BECOME THE DOCTOR THE PLAGUE FEARS
Step into the mask of Aldren, a plague doctor forced to fight the disease with weapons born from the disease itself.
Survive the Night
Defend your farmstead from waves of infected peasants, rabid villagers, bloated plague victims, corrupted healers, armored guards, and stronger boss-like threats. Every night becomes more dangerous as the plague sends more of Black Hollow’s dead toward your refuge.
SURVIVE THE NIGHT
Defend the farmstead against escalating waves of plague-ridden peasants, fallen guards, corrupted doctors, and grotesque creatures.
HARVEST THE INFECTION
Every fallen enemy releases plague ichor. Gather enough before the bell tolls to increase your chances of receiving stronger rewards.
BUILD SOMETHING MONSTROUS
Combine randomized upgrades, runic powers, alchemical attacks, and permanent improvements to create increasingly destructive builds..
FIGHT YOUR WAY
Crush enemies with your staff, strike from range, throw volatile potions, and unleash plague-powered abilities.
Key Features
First-person plague doctor combat
Wave-based survival at a remote farmstead
Roguelite upgrades and progression
Plague ichor resource collection
Ancient runestone upgrade system
Staff attacks, ranged plague shots, and thrown potions
Low-fantasy medieval horror atmosphere
Multiple infected enemy types
Dark alchemical abilities and plague-based weapons
A grim story about survival, research, and the search for a cure
Black Hollow is about surviving one more night, gathering one more sample, and pushing one step closer to the truth behind the plague.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 / AMD FX-8350
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 960 / AMD Radeon R9 280
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 4 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX compatible
- VR Support: None
- Additional Notes: Keyboard and mouse required.
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: 10/11 64-bit
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD RX 580
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 4 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX compatible
- VR Support: None
- Additional Notes: Recommended for stable performance during later waves with fog, particles, and multiple enemies.
Supported Languages
*languages with full audio support
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
Patch 0.3.0
Black Hollow — Patch 0.3.0Ability LoadoutsAdded the Plague Shelf, where you can change your four-slot combat loadout during the day.Added Plague Flame, a widening surge of plague fire that ignites enemies and leaves burning ground.Added Plague Barrier, a cast-through ward that damages and violently repels enemies.Added Pestilent Burst, a high-damage flask that infects enemies and spreads contagion when they die.Added Leeching Vapors, a lingering flask cloud that drains health from enemies.Updated ability icons, cooldown indicators, crosshair feedback, controls, and the HUD to reflect your equipped loadout.Combat and ProgressionLight and Heavy Staff Attacks now consume stamina, with Heavy Attacks requiring a larger commitment.Improved Heavy Attack animation timing, hit detection, impact feedback, and damage consistency.Added temporary and permanent Staff research covering damage, attack speed, stamina efficiency, and Heavy Attack range.Added dedicated Plague Flame and Plague Barrier upgrades.Added new relic interactions and balance options for Plague Flame and Plague Barrier.The temporary research store can now be previewed before Night 1. Purchases unlock after completing the first night.Ability-specific upgrades now appear only when the corresponding ability is equipped.World and EffectsAdded dynamic day-and-night lighting.Moonlight, ambient lighting, fog, sky color, reflections, and the celestial light now transition as night advances into dawn.Gave Plague Flame new casting effects, fire waves, enemy burns, ground pyres, dynamic lighting, and cleaner effect decay.Added distinct effects for Pestilent Burst and Leeching Vapors.Improved enemy visibility under changing lighting with normalized model lighting and enhanced eye glow.Interface and FixesRedesigned the Plague Shelf interface with clearer slot selection, ability details, controller navigation, and an option to restore the original loadout.Improved the Bestiary with better resolution scaling, more room for en...Read full article on Community Announcements (PolyPixel Interactive)AnnouncementsOfficial
Black Hollow Demo Is Officially Available!
The time has finally come.After a couple months of development, playtesting, feedback, bug fixes, and major improvements, the Black Hollow Demo is now officially available to play!Step into the plague-ridden world of Black Hollow as Aldren, a plague doctor trapped in an endless cycle of death and resurrection. Battle relentless waves of infected enemies, harvest plague ichor, discover powerful relic combinations, and grow stronger with every toll of the bell.What to ExpectFast-paced first-person roguelite combatMultiple attacks and abilities to masterPowerful relics that transform your playstyleIncreasingly dangerous waves of plague-ridden enemiesPermanent progression and unlockable upgradesPlenty of secrets, combinations, and future content still to comeThis demo represents a major milestone for Black Hollow, but development is far from finished. Your feedback will play a huge role in shaping the full game.After playing, please share your thoughts in the Steam Discussions or through the in-game feedback form. Bug reports, balance suggestions, performance feedback, and general impressions are all incredibly valuable.Thank you to everyone who participated in the playtest, submitted feedback, wishlisted the game, or supported the project in any way.Download the demo and enter Black Hollow today.Read full article on Community Announcements (PolyPixel Interactive)AnnouncementsOfficial
Playtest Results and Future Plans
The feedback from the Black Hollow playtest has been incredibly valuable so far. Every bug report, suggestion, and piece of criticism has helped me better understand what works, what needs improvement, and where the game should go next.Because of that, I plan to keep the playtest open and continue updating it while I build out a stronger gameplay loop, add more meaningful features, and improve the overall experience.Once Black Hollow feels complete enough to properly represent the game, the playtest will transition into a fully fledged demo.Thank you to everyone who has played and shared feedback. Your input is directly helping shape the future of Black Hollow.Read full article on Community Announcements (PolyPixel Interactive)Patch NotesOfficial
Playtest 0.1.4 Update - New Enemies & Balancing!
New ContentAdded the Armored Guard enemy with charge attacks and knockback resistance.Added the Infected Plague Doctor ranged enemy.Added new enemy attack effects, charge warnings, death effects, and animations.Combat & HUDImproved damage, impact, and directional enemy feedback.Added clearer ability cooldown indicators.Added an option to display middle ability icons, bottom ability icons, or both.Improved enemy direction indicators and animation smoothness.Improved enemy death visibility and ragdoll behavior.SettingsAdded an FOV slider.Improved keybinding support and updated HUD binding labels.Expanded graphics, display mode, and frame-limit options.Improved menu readability and corrected overlapping elements.Balance & ToolsAdded centralized studios for managing upgrades, attacks, and enemy balance.Expanded controls for enemy health, damage, speed, acceleration, spawning, and scaling.Improved upgrade balancing and progression tuning.Performance & StabilityOptimized ichor orb spawning and collection.Reduced lag caused by large groups of defeated or ragdolled enemies.Fixed several potential crashes and build-blocking compiler errors.General performance, animation, UI, and stability improvements.Read full article on Community Announcements (PolyPixel Interactive)AnnouncementsOfficial
200 Wishlists!
Holy! Flew from 100 to 200 in no time. Keep pushing this out to friends who may like this product. I appreciate all of you! Thank you!Read full article on Community Announcements (PolyPixel Interactive)
