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No Players Online, A Liminal Horror Gem, Collecting Positive Reviews After Reinstalled on Steam

ByMusu Murray

If you grew up playing shooters in the late 90s or early 2000s, there’s a specific kind of loneliness felt after logging into a multiplayer server and finding it empty. That dread is embodied in No Players Online, and thankfully, we’re able to experience said dread now that the game is back on Steam!

No Players Online Brings Back The Abandoned Server

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Screenshot of No Players Online, Courtesy of Beeswax Games and Black Lantern Collective via Steam

At its core, No Players Online is an atmospheric horror game that frames itself as a forgotten first-person shooter found on an old PC, but the genius lies in its framing device. The developers, Beeswax Games, have gone all-in on the faux-90s desktop environment – chunky windows, a Minesweeper clone, and access to an obscure 1998-like game forum.

You’re traversing a digital wasteland, made to believe it’s a Capture the Flag prototype that nobody plays anymore….but you’re not completely alone there. There is a heavy “hauntology” vibe here—the idea of a future that never happened, or a past that won’t stay dead. By digging through the files left by the computer’s previous owner, you start uncovering a conspiracy involving the developer. In a nutshell, imagine if “The Ring’s” videotape is a ’90s PC first-person shooter.

Mechanics Have Soul Transfers and Glitchy Downloads

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Screenshot of No Players Online, Courtesy of Beeswax Games and Black Lantern Collective via Steam

The meta mechanics within No Players Online are designed to mess with your head. The game introduces a “Soul Transfer” application, a piece of in-universe software that lets you merge different games. It hints at the game’s deeper lore that the game is a window to a soul, and messing with code might be messing with something alive inside.

You’ll be downloading files from shady forums, reading disturbingly realistic messages from a community, and trying to figure out why this specific Capture the Flag map feels so unnatural. The lo-fi graphics aren’t an aesthetic but a style that can hide anomalies in the visual noise. Was that a player model or just a glitch in the texture?

The Real-World Drama Behind No Players Online

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Screenshot of No Players Online, Courtesy of Beeswax Games and Black Lantern Collective via Steam

Recently, Beeswax Games had a “near-death experience” when No Players Online was pulled from Steam following a DMCA takedown request. No revenue coming in, plus wishlists being lost, completely halted the devs’ and the game’s momentum in the gaming industry and community. With the game being unplayable for weeks, the team at Black Lantern Collective and Beeswax Games lost critical sales during their launch window.

The developers revealed that this wasn’t a corporate, but a personal strike by a “former friend” due to a dispute. The game has finally been reinstated after the claim was resolved; however, the studio is currently fighting an uphill battle to recover. It’s always important to remember that when you buy an indie game with a genuinely cool horror experience, it’s a testament that fuels the working force behind the game’s creation.

Positive Steam Reviews On Gameplay

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Screenshot of No Players Online, Courtesy of Beeswax Games and Black Lantern Collective via Steam

No Players Online is currently sitting at a “Very Positive” rating on Steam for a reason. It’s smart, it’s creepy, and it taps into a very specific generational fear of technology. Analog horror has hit the gaming world like a hurricane, and this game’s concept is very different from the well-known batch. It requires you to dig deeper into its cybernetic space to find the story buried under generic gaming code.

Final Thoughts: This Game is More Than Capture the Flag

We all know that horror is subjective, but we also understand that anything can be made terrifying if you put your mind to it. As for No Players Online, something is chilling about exploring dead websites, old chat rooms, and the uncanny silence of an empty ctf_2fort Server. If you have ever explored an abandoned building or walked through a cemetery at night, this game holds a very similar vibe when you dig up deserted forums and websites. But, it’s worth knowing the truth…right?

Musu Murray is a graduate of Winthrop University with a B.S. in Multidisciplinary Chemistry & B.A. in Illustration Visual Communication. She can understand the technical jargon but prefers writing easy-to-digest reports that get straight to the point. She is a massive horror fan and loves the arts. When she's not writing, you can find her either at her easel desk painting, or bundled up in the dark watching cult classics. From gaming to gardening, she will get her hands on whatever topic she finds.

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