Ludography
64/100
Players14 ratings
80/100
Critics1 review
More scores
Metacritic5 critic reviews
75/100
Metacritic usersuser score
74/100
GameFAQsTough
2.56/5
Player reviews
73% positive1,770 reviews
Steam Deck
Playable
Runs on
Windows, Mac
Price
US$1.94

Where to get it

Distrust cover

2017 · Adventure · Indie

Distrust

DISTRUST is an isometric survival adventure with procedural generation on an Arctic research station lost in the endless dark of a polar night. A story-rich fiction with multiple endings that suits both singleplayer fans and co-op enthusiasts.

Released
23 August 2017
Platforms
Nintendo SwitchPlayStation 4WindowsXbox OnemacOS
Genres
AdventureIndieStrategySurvivalSurvival horror
Developers
—
Publishers
Alawar Entertainment
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
HorrorSurvival
Country
Russia
Age ratings
USK 0CLASS_IND LESRB TACB PGGRAC ALLPEGI 12
Languages
Chinese (Simplified), English, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Turkish
Time to beat
5hmain story37hcompletionist

About

Distrust is a survival game developed by Cheerdealers and published by Alawar. The player controls a team who, after surviving a helicopter crash at an arctic base, must scrounge for supplies. It is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, iOS, and Nintendo Switch.

›Story

They were on a routine rescue mission when a helicopter crash left the two survivors stranded near an abandoned Arctic base. To find a way back, they must explore the base, moving from sector to sector, fighting the severe cold and searching for food and equipment.

There's something else, too. Something that should not exist but does.

The thing, that enters their sleep and suck the life out of their bodies...

Staying awake seems like a safe option, but the lack of sleep is exhausting and leads to hallucinations. Eventually, the survivors will close their eyes and fall prey to the unknown, terrifying force - unless you can somehow strike a balance between exhaustion and falling into a sleep from which one might never awake.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The gameplay is inspired by The Thing, a 1982 horror film by John Carpenter. After a helicopter crash, the survivors take refuge at an abandoned arctic base. Initially, players choose two out of a roster of three characters. The roster can be expanded by unlocking up to fifteen characters, each of whom have special abilities to aid in their survival.

The base's map is randomly generated. While scrounging for supplies, the characters must satisfy basic needs: sleep, heat, and hunger. Sleeping risks drawing the attention of aliens known as "anomalies", which can kill characters or set back progress. Failure to satisfy their needs can cause madness, which brings on random status effects, such as quoting Shakespeare or consuming more food.

Reception

On Metacritic, the PC version of Distrust has a rating of 75/100 based on five reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Leif Johnson of GameSpot rated it 7/10 stars and wrote that the game's roguelike gameplay, which depends heavily on random chance, keeps replays fresh. However, he said this randomization can also make it "maddeningly tough". 5/5 stars, criticizing how little inspiration the game took from The Thing, its trivially-overcome challenges, and the pointlessness of many of the randomized gameplay elements.

Reviewing the game for Bloody Disgusting, Jim Hargreaves rated it 3/5 stars and wrote that the game's unpredictability and rushed micromanagement may frustrate some players, who find themselves overwhelmed. In comparing it to Don't Starve, Alec Meer of Rock, Paper, Shotgun called it "a neat and tense survive 'em up".

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
macOS23 August 2017Worldwide
Windows23 August 2017Worldwide
Xbox One24 August 2018Worldwide
PlayStation 416 November 2018Worldwide
Nintendo Switch16 July 2019Worldwide

Editions and related releases

Included in
Master of Survival BundleRuneStone Keeper & YourToy & Distrust BundleDisrtust and Goliath Premium Survival Bundle

Games like this

Collections1 collection

Platform libraries

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.