BORE Lets You Sell Dead Monsters Because Apparently Even Nightmares Need a Business Model
BORE is a co-op extraction-horror game where up to four players operate an industrial drilling machine, descend into monster-infested caves and return with valuables to satisfy an increasingly demanding employer. Minerals and relics are the obvious cargo. Dead monsters, apparently, are also merchandise. And if a colleague dies down there, the game has a procedure for recovering them too.
Its free Steam demo covers the first two underground strata, The Fill and The Old Sea, and is part of Steam Next Fest from October 19-26. What makes BORE worth watching is how drilling, scavenging and the fate of your crew feed into the same miserable business operation.
Want another co-op horror game where greed is more dangerous than the monsters? Meet GRAIN ROT, where scavenging, body possession and catastrophic teamwork turn every expedition into a workplace accident nobody wants to explain.
First, try not to destroy the company drill
Your workplace is THE MULE, an enormous drilling machine that actually needs operating. According to the official description, the crew manages throttle, coolant, temperature and drill-bit condition while making its way underground.
This is a pleasing complication. Plenty of horror games hand you a flashlight and leave the monsters to handle the rest. BORE first asks you to run heavy industrial machinery, presumably without anybody checking whether your qualifications extend beyond having once assembled a garden shed.
One person can be worrying about the equipment while another is exploring the caves, and there's every possibility that somebody will become intensely interested in a shiny object at exactly the wrong moment. That last part is a prediction about human behaviour, not a tested game feature. Give four people an expensive machine and a financial incentive to behave irresponsibly, and I wouldn't bet on a spotless safety record.
Beyond the drill, the loop involves procedurally generated caves, resource collection, dangerous creatures and getting your haul back to the surface. Deeper expeditions promise more valuable finds but greater danger, while the fictional Bureau demands increasingly expensive tribute. Suddenly, leaving with enough money is only half the problem. The other half is persuading the crew that enough is a real number.
Think BORE's employer has questionable standards? Meet MOGGED: Looksmaxx or Die, a co-op horror game where your appearance can determine which teammate gets hunted. Finally, a survival strategy that involves having better cheekbones than Kevin.
The monster is dead. Does Accounts want it?
BORE's most wonderfully unpleasant advertised mechanic is recovering and selling dead creatures.
That changes the theoretical value of an encounter. Normally, finding something underground with seventeen teeth and no respect for personal boundaries is a compelling argument for leaving. Here, you might also wonder whether its corpse is worth dragging upstairs.
There are limits to what we know. The developer advertises monster-corpse sales, but we don't have verified prices, species-specific values or evidence that hunting monsters is a smart money-making strategy. The game also emphasises avoiding threats. Treat this as an advertised part of the extraction economy, not an established corpse-farming guide.
Still, what sort of employer looks at a dead subterranean horror and asks whether it belongs on the inventory sheet? The Bureau's attitude to workplace hazards seems to be that anything which doesn't kill the entire workforce might eventually appear under assets.
And apparently, the paperwork extends to employees.
Developer updates describe recovering fallen crewmates and depositing their bodies at the surface. That's a documented recovery mechanic, but it does not establish that dead colleagues come with a cash reward. The distinction matters, even if the image of somebody solemnly returning Kevin from Logistics alongside six suspicious rocks has already done irreversible damage to the company's reputation.
Leave without Dave and the report will remember
The October 15 demo update introduced LEFT BELOW. According to the patch notes, anybody outside THE MULE when it winches out dies, losing their pack and haul. The missing crewmate is then recorded in the DIG REVIEW, a post-extraction report introduced earlier in October that tracks the haul, estimated value and crew performance.
Now the extraction decision has a particular edge. Somebody could still be underground carrying valuable cargo when the rest of the team wants to leave. Waiting may endanger the operation. Leaving means that person and everything they're carrying are lost.
It's the sort of workplace where missing the lift isn't an inconvenience followed by an apologetic phone call. It's a fatal incident with an entry on the performance report. I can only hope there's a box marked teamwork and that management has the decency to leave it blank.
The demo offers the extraction loop across its first two strata without a run or time limit. The full game is currently scheduled for November 24, 2026. What remains unproven without firsthand play is whether those systems produce consistently interesting decisions, especially whether recoverable monsters change how crews approach danger.
The underlying idea, however, has teeth: a horror game where survival is complicated by machinery, quotas and the possibility that even the thing trying to eat you has a resale value.
Tired of risking your life for an employer who might sell your corpse? Consider stealing somebody else's valuables instead. Explore The 10 Best Heist Games To Play Right Now, featuring criminal crews, disastrous getaways and Dark Hours, where even a perfectly respectable robbery can become a supernatural catastrophe.
BORE FAQ
Is BORE free to play?
BORE's demo is free on Steam. The full game is scheduled for November 24, 2026, but its price hasn't been confirmed.
Can you play BORE solo?
Yes. BORE supports solo play and cooperative sessions with up to four players.
Can you sell dead monsters in BORE?
Yes, according to the game's official description. Players can recover and sell dead creatures, although their exact values and the profitability of monster hunting haven't been established.
What happens if someone gets left behind in BORE?
Since the October 15 demo update, anyone outside THE MULE when it extracts dies, losing their backpack and collected loot. Their disappearance is recorded in the DIG REVIEW.
What is THE MULE in BORE?
THE MULE is the crew's industrial drilling machine. Players manage its throttle, coolant, temperature and drill-bit condition while descending underground.
When does BORE release?
BORE is currently scheduled to launch on November 24, 2026. The free demo is already available on Steam.
Comments