OZARK Devs Explain Why Their Side-Scrolling Horror Runs 3 To 5 Hours
Canadian studio ALTER-BOY has made OZARK, an action horror game that puts realistic 3D graphics on a 2.5D side-scrolling plane. It is set in a remote mountain region of northern Canada, where an armed special forces operative infiltrates a mysterious facility after losing contact with comrades. Creative director Andrew Kostuik told Game Spark the camera constraint came from nostalgia and from wanting to combine side-scrolling immediacy with modern lighting, tactical combat, and cinematic framing rather than build an FPS or TPS. Kostuik also said the short runtime is deliberate: the developers have children and less free time, and he believes games do not all need to be time thieves. Writer Travis Warnock added that the fixed scope forced the story to fit the stage count rather than padding it out. OZARK is available on PC via Steam, discounted 26 percent to 1,050 yen until October 9. It supports local co-op, not online multiplayer.