We played Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch, here are our thoughts
Posted on September 21, 2026 by Richard Ford in Previews, Switch 2
At Gamescom, I was able to try out Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch, an asymmetrical co-op horror game for Nintendo Switch 2. One of the members of the team working on it, who was nice enough to be my partner for the demo, shared a story very similar to the experiences my buddy and I had with ZombiU on Wii U. That served as inspiration for this horror project, and it really does show.
I was offered one of two ways to play: on Nintendo Switch 2’s portable screen, or with the Pro Controller on the TV. I had a go at both, but tried playing on the portable screen first. Much like ZombiU, we can manage inventory and such on this screen, but in reality, we are controlling the unnamed protagonist’s little robot buddy, who my partner in crime activated within the level. On the screen here, I can see all the security cameras of the different rooms in a building we’ve awakened in; an aquarium, a cinema, a kitchen, an office, and so on. There was a little meter at the top filling up as the TV player moved around, we’ll get onto that in a minute.
There’s an empty feeling of dread and confusion here, where it feels like there’s no life in the building and it has that same tensity that something like 28 Days Later had when Cillian Murphy wakes up for the first time. There are puzzles that are brought to the players as they explore – the one on the portable screen is managing items, checking for points of interest that glow on the screens of the security cameras. I was too panicked and waiting for a jumpscare to focus properly, so I wasn’t doing a very good job of solving puzzles. The developer playing with me was nice enough to point me in the right direction more than a few times, until a mysterious entity arrives and presumably kills us. Upon restarting the level, we wake back in the same area we started with some inventory items we collected still in tow. Looks like we’ve gained Natsuki Subaru’s ‘return by death’ ability, sans the creepy witch voice. We made slow but steady progress, finding notes around the apartment that give us some hints towards what’s happening in the story and what we’re to be doing, before getting unceremoniously caught again.
This time, I played as the person on the TV screen, which is a decidedly easier job than managing the security cameras, entity gauge monitoring and inventory. We make further progress here, but we get cornered near the opening area after circling around the building and I think I’m screwed; I crouch in a corner underneath a shadow and somehow, as if by a miracle, avoid enemy detection. I go to the cinema area to blow a drone that the enemy entity has set up, and get caught again. I never progress to the point I complete the level but coming off the demo, I realized just how much fun I was having and that I wasn’t actually really that scared.
The Atlantis Studio crew was nice enough to sit down with me after we finished playing to answer some questions casually. With the curtains back open, and the pressure off, I sink back into my seat and mentally reset. Here are some of the details the team shared with me for this Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive title:
- The aim behind this project is to bring the feeling of couch co-op back, though online options are available
- There’s an in-game achievement system
- There’s also a reward for completing all objectives
- The mechanic of dying and waking back up in the same spot exists for a reason; there’s a lore explanation for this
- There’s a points system in the game, different factors influence the score
- There’s arcade-like inspiration to motivate players to want to beat their high score on a level
- There was only a core team of eight developers for this title
- The team has largely perfected this game, and is already at work on their next title
- The game is relatively short at roughly 5-6 hours, but that playthrough can be shortened or extended based on players finding shortcuts within levels or choosing to explore more to find all items.
- Keep an ear out for the music; I’ll say no more
Atlantis Studio also talked to me about working directly with Nintendo for this Switch 2 exclusive, which was quite an interesting and informative chat. They found the experience of working with Nintendo quite comfortable. According to the team, Nintendo is quite strict and thorough with quality control and making sure everything is up to snuff, but also fair in their assessments. Getting the quality seal of approval reinforced the confidence they had in Beyond the Dark. Nintendo was completely on board with Atlantis using Switch 2’s capabilities in such a unique way, and that they had no issues.
As it turns out, after playing this demo, I had no issues either and when I sit down to play the full game, I’ll be a bit more relaxed and hopefully make more rational puzzle-solving decisions next time around. This is a really cool title and I’m looking forward to having a go at it when it comes out this October. Maybe I can rope one of my friends into joining me, just in time for the Halloween season!
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