INANIMA | Evolution, Accessibility, and Shadows of the Past

A new INANIMA devlog is now available! We’ve been hard at work on INANIMA, adding full control rebinding, a smarter save system with checkpoints, and deeper atmospheric details.

INANIMA - DEV UPDATE

Obscure Tales

4/9/20263 min read

Inanima horror game developer update for April 2026 featuring pixel art of a creepy stone angel head.

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while since our last update, but we haven’t stopped working deep within INANIMA. Over these past weeks, our focus has been split between refining the user experience and expanding the world we are building.

Here are the details of our latest progress:

1. Full Control & Accessibility

We want the gameplay experience to feel smooth for every type of player. That’s why we’ve implemented a complete control rebinding system for both keyboard and controller.

Pixel art survival horror game keyboard controls settings menu featuring character Jacob Miller.

Controller Support: Whether you prefer keyboard or a console controller, the game is fully optimized, and you’ll be able to customize every action to your liking.
Dynamic Tutorial: The initial tutorial is now “smart.” It adapts in real time to any changes you make in your configuration, ensuring that on-screen prompts always reflect the key or button you’ve chosen.

Pixel art game interface showing dynamic WASD keyboard control icons for character movement.

2. Saving & Progression: Learning from Lamentum

In INANIMA, progress is recorded at Lazarus terminals using strange red VHS tapes.

Pixel art shows two Lazarus terminals, one dark and winged, another light and blocky, beside a red cassette tape for memory

Improvements to the save system:

After analyzing feedback from our previous title, Lamentum, we’ve decided to implement key changes to INANIMA’s save system:

Quick Load: You can now load your game directly from the pause menu, without needing to return to the main menu.
Autosave & Checkpoints: We’ve introduced an automatic checkpoint system. We’re currently balancing it based on difficulty: at higher difficulty levels, autosaving will be limited or even nonexistent to preserve the pure tension of survival horror. We’re looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this in the upcoming demo!

Pixel art survival horror game showing a character near a Lazarus terminal and bloody scene.

3. Atmosphere: Layers of Immersion

We’ve put a lot of effort into the visual detail of the environments so that INANIMA’s atmosphere feels unsettling from the very first second.

Pixel art tileset of sci-fi horror assets including bloody medical equipment and futuristic coffins.

The decoration is built from different “variable layers” that change depending on the area. We aim for strong visual variety by adding dynamic elements on top of the base environment: stains, accumulated debris, foreground shadows, and other details that make every corner feel unique and organic.

A pixel art animation titled Anatomy of a Room showing an empty interior space being furnished.

4. Lore Connections: Is the Past Returning?

Many of you have asked whether INANIMA is connected to Lamentum. That’s a question we’d rather have you answer yourselves. You may discover threads that directly connect to that universe… or they may simply be coincidences.

Unraveling that mystery is in your hands.

Pixel art of a man in a dark, ominous room with a large, grotesque statue, candles, and blood-stained floor. A horror game

Next Stop: The Demo

All this work on core systems is helping us prepare INANIMA’s first demo. We want you to experience firsthand what we’ve been working on very soon.

As always, your support is vital. If you haven’t already, adding the game to your Steam Wishlist helps us tremendously to keep moving forward.

Thank you for joining us on this journey into horror.