ILL made an unforgettable entrance at Summer Game Fest 2025 with a trailer that practically dripped blood and tension. What viewers got was a brutal first-person horror experience brimming with frenetic combat, mutilated monsters, and a world that looks like it’s decaying from the inside out.
Behind the madness is Team Clout, a horror-savvy studio led by artists Maxim Verehin and Oleg Vdovenko, both with extensive backgrounds in film and concept art (think Longlegs, V/H/S/Beyond, It: Welcome to Derry).
In a recent PlayStation blog post, the two artists went in depth about the game, channeling their extensive experience into a dark, story-driven survival horror experience that seeks to physically unsettle players.
ILL’s world is drenched in dread, a crumbling, isolated fortress in an Eastern European-inspired setting, overrun by unspeakable creatures. The story stays close to its protagonist, whose personal demons intertwine with the game’s nightmarish landscape.
“We want players to feel like the horror is happening to them,” says Verehin. “Not just psychological tension, but body-level discomfort.”
That discomfort is delivered through a horrifying blend of hyper-realistic visuals, creative dismemberment mechanics, and disturbingly reactive enemies that don’t just die: they suffer, mutate, and adapt.
The monster designs, crafted by Oleg and Maxim, pay homage to practical effects from classic horror films, while the animations are sometimes inspired by real-life team antics. A memorable moment in the trailer features an unsettling monster bend, which was actually mimicked from Art Director Alexey Mikhailov goofing around during a dev session.
Gameplay-wise, ILL offers exploration, crafting, weapon upgrades, and smart environmental interactions. You’ll juggle limited resources while taking on monster encounters using everything from a classic shotgun to experimental melee weapons.
Team Clout’s goal is to create a game where players walk away shaken, but can’t stop talking about it. “We want people to tell their friends: ‘This insane thing happened in my playthrough!’ And hear, ‘Wait, that didn’t happen in mine!’” says Verehin.
ILL is coming to PlayStation 5, with more release info on the way soon. You can view the official PlayStation trailer below.
