⚠️ Early Playtest Notice
The playtest is for a very early prototype. Access is granted in small waves as we actively develop the game.
Expect bugs, missing features, and placeholder content.
"Our last sighting was four years ago... Now, it's your turn to brave the unknown."
The Perilous North is a survival-strategy RPG in early development made by Anna and Morgan, a husband and wife team with a dream to see this project's potential fully realized.
Set during the golden age of polar exploration, dieselpunk machinery meets creeping Lovecraftian dread. You captain the crew of a doomed Arctic expedition trapped in an unforgiving time loop. Your choices echo through cycles of life, death, and frostbitten rebirth.
In a journey to uncover the fate of a previous expedition, you must lead an eight-person crew across a dynamic world of frozen wilderness and drifting pack ice. Each crew member has a unique personality, skills, and evolving relationships that can shape the fate of the mission—and your own.
Key Features
• Dual-Layer Gameplay
Switch between the Navigation Layer—a turn-based, board game-style overworld managing fuel, weather, and morale—and the Survival Layer, a real-time tactical view where you explore the icy terrain of the Northern Arctic, build shelters, hunt wildlife, and manage physical and mental health in minute detail.
• Relentless Environmental Survival
Manage hunger, cold, and distress through a detailed simulation of Arctic conditions. Wind direction, sun exposure, darkness, and equipment all affect your crew’s wellbeing—and sanity.
• Death Isn’t the End
Your expedition is caught in a time loop. Even death offers a strange form of progression. Unlock blueprints, preserve your ship’s upgrades, and uncover fragments of past lives in future runs.
• Crew Drama & Dynamic Relationships
Your crew remember... something. Their stories evolve through meal-time conversations, disobedience events, and promotions. Relationships form and fracture based on your leadership style. Push them too far, and they might push back.
• Hunting, Building & Crafting
Lay traps for animals, fish in ice-cold waters, mine iron, or drill for oil. Build research stations, medical tents, and fire pits to keep your crew alive—or fail to do so and watch them descend into madness.
• Character Driven Narrative
Progress a rich overarching narrative with character subplots and moral decisions that reflect your leadership. Will you be the affable protector, the calculated tactician, or the iron-fisted imperialist?
• Cosmic Horror Beneath the Ice
What lies deep beneath the Arctic? Strange anomalies, ancient ruins, and unnatural phenomena. Investigate at your own risk—some truths are best left buried.
• Dog Sleds, Dinghies & Dynamic Travel
Traverse ice, snow, and sea using sled dogs, small boats, or by foot. Strategic travel is key to conserving energy and surviving the cold.
• Immersive Visuals & Audio
Features hand-painted portraits, atmospheric audio design, voice-acted diary entries, and haunting ambient soundtracks.
