Prepare to sail to uncharted lands where human nature can be deadlier than the bitter cold…

Dread Hunger immerses players in a rich world of 19th century Arctic exploration where eight player-controlled ‘Explorers’ depend on each other for survival—but two of them are ‘Thralls’ determined to sabotage the mission!

Players use voice chat to role play and give life to their chosen character aboard the ship while completing objectives in an action-adventure game world. The six Explorers must work together to gather resources to power the ship towards its destination while contending with the harsh climate.

Meanwhile, Thralls plot to poison food, massacre crewmembers, detonate explosives in the ship, plunder resources, and invoke dark magic to undermine the mission—all while pretending to be loyal Explorers. Starvation, wolves, cannibal attacks, and other gruesome fates abound, any misplaced trust can quickly lead to a knife in the back. When food is sparse, fellow crewmates appear more and more appetizing.

In preparation for the game’s full launch on January 26, 2022, the update adds a new character, the Cook, new enhanced audio for voice chat, poker emotes, and additional features.

In time for the holidays, the update introduces the new Cook character model, a jolly ship’s chef who prepares delicious meals—or deadly ones, depending on the player’s role. The game’s voice chat system has been upgraded with higher quality audio—the better to hear voice inflections that could indicate a lie—using EOS technology. New poker emotes allow players to bluff, show despair at their hand, and generally have fun during the pre-voyage poker game. Full build update notes can be found here.

The game update is the last major update before January’s full release that will add a new map, player tutorials, and a full gameplay emote system.

Key Features

• Survive the Arctic: Build fires to stay warm, fend off predators, and hunt for food to stay alive in the unforgiving Canadian Arctic 
• Betray Your Friends: Feed them tainted food, lure animals to attack them, hex them with blood magic, or if all else fails… shoot them in the back and blame someone else 
• Roleplay Your Character: Add flavor and personality to your character by using integrated voice chat and your in-game actions. Play as the Captain, Navigator, Engineer, Cook, Doctor, Chaplain, Royal Marine, Hunter, or Engineer, all equipped with a unique starting kit and passive ability. 
• You Are What You Eat: In the Arctic, you must make grim choices to stay fed; butcher bodies and use the pieces as weapons—or food 
• Captain a Ship: Steer a 19th century warship around (or into) icebergs and find coal for the ever-hungry boiler to keep the ship moving... or blow it up 
• Brave a Perilous World: Plan around a full day and night cycle while trying to outrun a massive blizzard that looms over the expedition 
• New Armory Secondary Crew Objective: The Armory can provide powerful weapons to Explorers or Thralls, depending on who manages to unlock it first 

Currently available through Steam Early Access, Dread Hunger is coming to PC (Steam) on January 26, 2022 for $29.99 / £23.79 / €24.99, with other platforms being considered.