Announcing RUNT: A Rural Gothic Mystery Set at the End of the World
Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2026 6:13 pm
Announcing RUNT: A Rural Gothic Mystery Set at the End of the World
Endure five days. Accuse the guilty. Uncover the truth before something worse happens.
Los Angeles, USA - February 20, 2026 — Developer Grimtaste Studios and publisher DreadXP revealed RUNT, a rural gothic visual novel mystery set in a monstrous post-apocalypse where the sky has been black for ten years and something far worse than suspicion stalks the town of Skipclaw. Brought to you by an independent team of two best friends, a playable demo of RUNT is also launching today to celebrate the premiere.
In RUNT, players step into the shoes of Runt Strayer, the 19-year-old youngest of five brothers, the last surviving sons of a dead cult leader who once called himself the Mouth of God. On the fifth anniversary of their father’s death, the brothers discover a horrific message written in blood across their boarded-up church pulpit: 5 Days. With the town of Skipclaw sealed behind protective walls and humanity no longer the apex predator, Runt must investigate the omen before the fifth day arrives, and choose who to accuse. Will you be able to guess right?
RUNT is a branching narrative experience where you’ll gather clues by speaking to townspeople, interrogating your brothers, and navigating the suffocating politics of survival. The order of conversations, the questions asked, and the conclusions drawn will all shape the outcome at the end. Over five days, you will investigate every brother and their secrets, build or fracture relationships with masked townsfolk, survive in a world haunted by otherworldly creatures, and decide who is responsible. On the final day, upon choosing a culprit, you’ll see one of over a dozen endings.
Skipclaw is a town in isolation. After a mysterious apocalyptic event cloaked the world in pervasive darkness, horrific creatures have emerged and replaced humans as the dominant predators. To survive, the townspeople must stay in the light, cover their skin, and hide their faces behind masks. Inside the walls, safety is fragile, suspicion is constant, and the Strayer family, architects of the town’s defenses, sit at the center of it all. Dialogue choices build hidden stats that influence how characters respond to you and which clues reveal themselves. The kind of person you become will determine which truths you’re able to uncover, and which ones you’ll never know.
Key features:
A mature story for both adventure and visual novel fans.
Branching dialogue system where personality traits unlock different paths and clues as you develop relationships with those around you.
Five-day investigation of collecting clues to draw conclusions, culminating in a player-driver accusation.
Micro-games including HOGS (Hidden Object Games), puzzles, and bespoke manual labor vignettes.
A meticulously crafted aesthetic featuring originally captured photographs and hand-painted art.
Highly replayable rural gothic mystery with over a dozen different endings.
A bleak post-apocalyptic setting where darkness is permanent and humanity is, unfortunately, not alone.
RUNT will launch in 2026 on PC, and a playable demo is now available on Steam.
For more information:
Play the demo on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4381700/RUNT_Demo/
Follow Grimtaste Studios on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/grimtaste.bsky.social
Follow DreadXP on X: https://twitter.com/DreadXPGames
Follow DreadXP on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreadxpgames/
Join the DreadXP Discord: https://discord.com/invite/sK6bjPQpFb
About Grimtaste Studios
Grimtaste Studios is made up of two best friends, Yves and Soren, founded upon a love of horror, mystery, and designing for the freaks. With a background in fiction writing and game development, their premiere game RUNT is a rural gothic visual novel mystery coming out in 2026.
About DreadXP
DreadXP is a leading independent horror games publisher. DreadXP’s goal is to seek out and publish great titles and uplift members of the indie dev community. DreadXP releases include award-winning games such as The Mortuary Assistant, My Friendly Neighborhood, Dread Delusion, PIGFACE, White Knuckle, Heartworm, and the Dread X Collections, an anthology series of mini-horror games. DreadXP’s upcoming titles include Paranormal Activity: Threshold, Entropy, and The Secret of Weepstone. DreadXP is a sister company of the independent horror film production company, DREAD.
To learn more about DreadXP, please visit www.dreadxp.com.
Endure five days. Accuse the guilty. Uncover the truth before something worse happens.
Los Angeles, USA - February 20, 2026 — Developer Grimtaste Studios and publisher DreadXP revealed RUNT, a rural gothic visual novel mystery set in a monstrous post-apocalypse where the sky has been black for ten years and something far worse than suspicion stalks the town of Skipclaw. Brought to you by an independent team of two best friends, a playable demo of RUNT is also launching today to celebrate the premiere.
In RUNT, players step into the shoes of Runt Strayer, the 19-year-old youngest of five brothers, the last surviving sons of a dead cult leader who once called himself the Mouth of God. On the fifth anniversary of their father’s death, the brothers discover a horrific message written in blood across their boarded-up church pulpit: 5 Days. With the town of Skipclaw sealed behind protective walls and humanity no longer the apex predator, Runt must investigate the omen before the fifth day arrives, and choose who to accuse. Will you be able to guess right?
RUNT is a branching narrative experience where you’ll gather clues by speaking to townspeople, interrogating your brothers, and navigating the suffocating politics of survival. The order of conversations, the questions asked, and the conclusions drawn will all shape the outcome at the end. Over five days, you will investigate every brother and their secrets, build or fracture relationships with masked townsfolk, survive in a world haunted by otherworldly creatures, and decide who is responsible. On the final day, upon choosing a culprit, you’ll see one of over a dozen endings.
Skipclaw is a town in isolation. After a mysterious apocalyptic event cloaked the world in pervasive darkness, horrific creatures have emerged and replaced humans as the dominant predators. To survive, the townspeople must stay in the light, cover their skin, and hide their faces behind masks. Inside the walls, safety is fragile, suspicion is constant, and the Strayer family, architects of the town’s defenses, sit at the center of it all. Dialogue choices build hidden stats that influence how characters respond to you and which clues reveal themselves. The kind of person you become will determine which truths you’re able to uncover, and which ones you’ll never know.
Key features:
A mature story for both adventure and visual novel fans.
Branching dialogue system where personality traits unlock different paths and clues as you develop relationships with those around you.
Five-day investigation of collecting clues to draw conclusions, culminating in a player-driver accusation.
Micro-games including HOGS (Hidden Object Games), puzzles, and bespoke manual labor vignettes.
A meticulously crafted aesthetic featuring originally captured photographs and hand-painted art.
Highly replayable rural gothic mystery with over a dozen different endings.
A bleak post-apocalyptic setting where darkness is permanent and humanity is, unfortunately, not alone.
RUNT will launch in 2026 on PC, and a playable demo is now available on Steam.
For more information:
Play the demo on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4381700/RUNT_Demo/
Follow Grimtaste Studios on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/grimtaste.bsky.social
Follow DreadXP on X: https://twitter.com/DreadXPGames
Follow DreadXP on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreadxpgames/
Join the DreadXP Discord: https://discord.com/invite/sK6bjPQpFb
About Grimtaste Studios
Grimtaste Studios is made up of two best friends, Yves and Soren, founded upon a love of horror, mystery, and designing for the freaks. With a background in fiction writing and game development, their premiere game RUNT is a rural gothic visual novel mystery coming out in 2026.
About DreadXP
DreadXP is a leading independent horror games publisher. DreadXP’s goal is to seek out and publish great titles and uplift members of the indie dev community. DreadXP releases include award-winning games such as The Mortuary Assistant, My Friendly Neighborhood, Dread Delusion, PIGFACE, White Knuckle, Heartworm, and the Dread X Collections, an anthology series of mini-horror games. DreadXP’s upcoming titles include Paranormal Activity: Threshold, Entropy, and The Secret of Weepstone. DreadXP is a sister company of the independent horror film production company, DREAD.
To learn more about DreadXP, please visit www.dreadxp.com.