I do everything myself (code, models, sound, lore). My psychological horror game's Steam page is officially live! Plus, a question about UE 5.6 vs 5.7 for Steam Deck optimization.
Hey fellow devs! Today is a massive milestone for me. The Steam page for my solo project, ASYLUM, is officially live!
I’ve been building this first-person psychological horror entirely from scratch. When I say solo, I mean it: I’m personally handling the core mechanics/blueprints, modeling all the environment assets and characters, building the level design, creating the sound design, and writing the entire story and lore.
Now, I have a technical question for you all regarding the engine version:
I started this project on UE 5.6. I'm heavily utilizing Lumen, Nanite, and Virtual Shadow Maps to get that oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere. However, my ultimate goal is aggressive optimization to make the game run smoothly on lower-end hardware, and I really want it to be fully playable on the Steam Deck.
I’m seriously considering migrating to 5.7 (or even waiting for 5.8 to be production-ready) to take advantage of new rendering optimizations. Have any of you made the jump for similar reasons? Is the engine upgrade worth the potential migration headaches for a solo dev trying to tame Lumen for the Deck? I'd love to hear your experiences.
It’s exhausting but incredibly rewarding to see the world come to life exactly how I envisioned it. If you are a fan of story-driven horror or just want to support a fellow solo dev, adding the game to your Wishlist would mean the absolute world to me! Targeting a November 11, 2026 release.
Also, what do you think of the cover art?
🔗 Steam Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4787530/Asylum