Solo developer Steelkrill Studio is transforming one of the world’s most unsettling real-world locations into a survival horror experience. Its upcoming title Where Dolls Hang will feature actual photographs captured at Isla de las Muñecas—Mexico’s infamous “Island of the Dolls”—as the basis for its creepy doll designs, the studio revealed this past summer during the Horror Game Awards showcase. Scheduled for release in 2026 and available to wishlist now on Steam, the game stands as a tribute to the decaying dolls that have disturbed both the Mexican lagoon and players’ imaginations for more than eight decades.
A Real Island of Horrors
The Isla de las Muñecas has been through quite a lot over its roughly 80-year history. According to local folklore, the cobwebbed, bald dolls nailed into the island’s trees harbor the spirit of a drowned young girl—a story that caretaker Don Julian Santana may or may not have invented himself. In any case, he spent much of his life fishing plastic Barbies and baby figures from the water near his home in an effort to honor her memory. Where Dolls Hang channels that same creeping unease into its gameplay, honoring the idea that reality is often far stranger than fiction.
Real Photographs Behind the Horror
According to Steelkrill, some of the doll models players encounter were built directly from real photographs taken at the island. “Some of the doll models you’ll find were created using real photographs,” the developer explained on Twitter, noting that those same images can be found scattered throughout the game world. An accompanying clip of first-person gameplay footage drives the point home: after a doll head
Join the conversation