Survival Horror TIC-TAC: Twelve o'clock Launches on Steam
The release marks the debut of a solo Ukrainian developer's long-gestating project, with a console rollout already scheduled, signaling a multi-platform push for a niche horror title.
Key Facts
- TIC-TAC: Twelve o'clock launched on Steam on August 20, 2026, priced at 1,200 yen with a 20% launch discount until September 3.
- The game is developed by Ukrainian solo developer ARMAG and published by Two Cakes Studio.
- The game is set in Bluebird High School, closed after several students disappeared, and features survival horror gameplay with security cameras and generator management.
- Console versions for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch are planned for later release.
- The game supports Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, Korean, and 13 other languages.
Reporting from 2 sources: Denfaminicogamer, Game Spark.
Two Cakes Studio released the survival horror game TIC-TAC: Twelve o'clock on Steam on August 20. Developed by Ukrainian solo developer ARMAG, the game is set in Bluebird High School, a school closed by police after several students disappeared. Four friends investigate the closure, and one sneaks into the school at night, only to trigger supernatural events at midnight when hallways distort and vengeful spirits appear. The player must use security cameras to monitor hallways and rooms, manage a generator and fuses to keep power running, and learn each threat's behavior patterns and weaknesses to survive until morning. The game is influenced by cult horror works from the early 1990s and includes survival elements. It is priced at 1,200 yen, with a 20% launch discount running until September 3, bringing the price to 960 yen. The game supports Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, Korean, and 13 other languages. Console versions for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch are planned for later release. Developer Valerii Darchenko said the game was made over many years and that reaching players means more to him than anything else.
- ARMAG is a solo studio run by Ukrainian developer Valerii Darchenko, who spent years in CGI production making promotional content for international brands before moving into games.
- Darchenko taught himself game development through serious study of Unity and Unreal, and founded ARMAG partly for the creative freedom of acting as director, screenwriter, and cinematographer at once.
- Two Cakes Studio, the publisher, also develops its own indie games across genres including action RPG, medieval colony sim, and strategy turn-based titles.
- The game's trailer is available at https://youtu.be/fH-AdQcs54, and its Steam page is at https://store.steampowered.com/app/1490020/TICTAC_Twelve_oclock/.
- Two Cakes Studio maintains accounts on YouTube, X, Bluesky, Discord, and TikTok.
- The developer's comment, as quoted by Denfaminicogamer: "This game has been made over many years, through many changes, both personally and in the world around me. Finally reaching the hands of players means more to me than anything else."
- Game Spark notes the same quote with slightly different wording: "undergoing many changes" instead of "through many changes."
- The game's official description emphasizes that sounds outside the player's field of vision and presences in the darkness are as dangerous as the ghosts themselves.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.