The Skin Stapler is the biggest WTF Horror Game of 2026

So, The Skin Stapler. The game is quite a lot to take in, it's a homage to cheesy, low-budget 80s slashers, and if I were trying to describe what exactly it is, it's a dark comedy horror adventure with some light, scripted shop management elements.

The game comes from solo developer Tainted Pact and publisher Assembly Entertainment, a lowkey iconic duo in the indie horror scene, having previously released several games together including Suffer The Night (2023), Terror At Oakheart (2024), Massacre At The Mirage (2024) and Flesh Made Fear (2025).

The Skin Stapler is structured in a pretty unique way. Being chapter based, you take on the role of several citizens of the crime-soaked Carrion City, going back and forth between playing from the perspective of The Skin Stapler's victims, and the hardened detective Dick Slater trying to catch the serial killer plaguing the city with a series of gruesome murders (who would have guessed coming from a murderer nicknamed "The Skin Stapler").

This is where the "light, scripted shop management" aspect comes in. The Skin Stapler primarily targets victims while on their work shifts. The gameplay loop goes something like this:
A new chapter starts, you're put in the shoes of a new character (likely someone you've seen during a previous chapter) as they arrive at work. You prepare for the workday by completing a few tasks with occasional mini-games, and then you serve a scripted amount of bizarre customers before The Skin Stapler eventually shows up, usually creeping in the background or approach you for a quick chat before going off screen, leaving you on your edge waiting for the moment he strikes.

The "victim" chapters are then followed by more narrative driven chapters where you play as the mentioned detective Dick as he and his newly assigned sidekick Robbie Knox investigate the crimescenes, having to find a handful of clues left behind by the killer in order to piece together a key of sorts that unlocks the skin-covered boxes containing mysterious tapes The Skin Stapler has left for us.

This formula repeats a handful of times during the games 2,5 - 3,5 hour playtime, while it does become predictable and a bit repetitive, as the game goes on the story starts to pick up, who is The Skin Stapler, where did he come from, why is he doing this? Towards the end of the game I was intrigued to find out.