Developer: Benny 'plufmot' Renya
Contact: contact@bennyrenya.com
Description
Shadow Strike is a top-down stealth survival game set in Naarm / Melbourne, playable solo or with a friend in co-op (local or online!). When the city is full of zombies, surviving isn't just about staying alive. It's also about staying sane.
The game's core mechanic simulates OCD and anxiety in real time. Move too erratically and your anxiety spikes, slowing you down. Fall into compulsive movement patterns and your OCD builds, demanding rituals at the worst moments. Use medication to suppress it — for now!
Designed by a developer with lived experience of these conditions, Shadow Strike turns mental health into mechanics that are challenging, honest, and playable.
Key Features
- Two-player co-op, both online and local, with full split screen support
- OCD simulation: orientation-tracking system that builds compulsion under pressure
- Anxiety simulation: real-time stress meter affecting speed, control, and options
- Medication mechanic: temporary suppression, or follow your compulsions to ease your obsessions
- Set in Naarm / Melbourne: apartments, streets, and recognisable urban environments
- Destructible and interactive environments and objects
Accessibility-first design: rebindable controls, game speed 0.5x–2x, colourblind palettes, hold/toggle options
- Developed in English with localisation support built in from the start
Technical Details
- Engine: GameMaker Studio 2
- Platforms: PC (Steam) — target late 2026 / Console ports 2027
- Players: 1–2, local or online co-op
- Perspective: Top-down 2D
Gameplay GIFs
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About the Developer
Benny Renya is a Naarm / Melbourne-based independent game developer. He has shipped 50+ games and two commercial releases. His most recent title, Adventure of Leek (Steam, 2022), holds an 87% Very Positive rating with support for 7+ languages and had local + online multiplayer, new scoreboards, quality of life updates, and more in its anniversary update (Feb 2026) which was developed solo. Shadow Strike is his current commercial production outside of his day job, drawing on his personal lived experience with OCD and anxiety.