DEAD LETTER DEPT. PRESS KIT
Factsheet
Developer:
Mike Monroe
Belief Engine
Based in Redmond, Washington
Release date:
January 30th, 2025 10:00 AM PST
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, SteamOS
Steam Store
Price:
$14.99 / £12.79 / 14,79€ / ¥ 1,700
Website:
beliefengine.com/deadletterdept
Soundtrack:
Description
DEAD LETTER DEPT. is an atmospheric typing horror game drenched in mystery, where as a data-entry worker you are set with the job of typing up various words and addresses written on the mail & letters that were not able to be successfully delivered- due to bad handwriting or other reasons unknown. At times you have to decipher damaged images as oddities begin to appear.
After moving to the big city, you got yourself an apartment, and secured a temp data entry job- just to keep you afloat till something better comes along. Your official title is a Data Conversion Operator, but you’re really more like a warm body who types up all the junk computers still can’t read.
Day to day, you go to work & process the images displayed on your terminal, and type up whatever text is in front of you. Whatever can be made out, that is. Letters and lost mail, some mangled and twisted, that have travelled from place to place with nowhere else to go. Sometimes the mail you receive is a little strange. Sometimes, it feels like it’s talking to you directly through the screen…
Features
- Bizarre and sometimes intense typing challenges using your computer keyboard.
- Strange and voyeuristic storytelling, in the form of the letters & mail you process in your daily work.
- Horror crafted through a rich dark & moody grain encrusted atmosphere.
- Storylines discovered in the mail change every playthrough, no two-playthroughs are the same. (Estimated playtime: 120min per run)
- Prominent audio and ambient sound design.
- Multiple endings to uncover, depending on circumstances followed in the game.
Gameplay Description
The player processes queues of mail- whatever portion of the mail is highlighted in yellow by the system, they are required to determine what it says and type it up. Additionally there is an address auto-suggest tool that populates as the player types, giving suggestions for possible confirmed addresses.
Development History
Mike Monroe had been wanting to work on a horror game again for quite a long time, but wasn’t sure what sort of premise to go with. DEAD LETTER DEPT. was inspired after hearing about Scott McKie talk about his odd work-experiences doing data entry for the US Postal Service in the early 2000s. Because Scott would attend college during the day, he regularly would go to the facility (out in the middle of nowhere) in the dead of night, giving it an intense vibe.
An early protoype was developed, with a focus on keyboard data entry and heavy sound design atmosphere, after which it was decided to bring the concept into a longer form game taking place over multiple nights.
The game’s name and premise is loosely inspired by the (formerly named) Dead Letter Office branch of the United States Postal Service, in which lost mail is stored and sometimes sold away after all attempts to deliver it has failed.
HauntedPS1 Demo Disc Collection
HauntedPS1 is an indie dev horror collective, with a primary focus on lo-fi & lo-poly aesthetics. They regularly release compiled collections of demos and game jams produced by the community.
DEAD LETTER DEPT.’s demo debuted in HauntedPS1’s annual demo disc event, the 2022 edition titled Spectral Mall, and then was added to Steam shortly after.
Indie Horror Showcase + EEK3
DEAD LETTER DEPT. has been featured in the 2024 Indie Horror Showcase (put on by DreadXP & The MIX), as well as HauntedPS1’s annual trailer show EEK3 twice.
Videos
Full Trailer (AVAILABLE NOW Variation)
YouTube Link - Download Video Link
Full Trailer
YouTube Link - Download Video Link
Release Date Announcement Trailer
YouTube Link - Download Video Link
Teaser Trailer
YouTube Link - Download Video Link
Screenshots
GIFs
Logos & Icons
Capsule
Transparent Logo (White) With Envelope
Transparent Logo Only (White Version)
Transparent Logo Only (Black Version)
Transparent Square Layout Logo (White)
Transparent Square Layout Logo (Black)
Press Coverage
"‘Dead Letter Dept.’ is an incredible Indie Horror game that plays on the monotony of office work and what it means to be stuck in one place."
-Anthony Franklin II
Destructoid Review
https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-dead-letter-dept/
“It’s hard to fully communicate it in writing, but the visual and audio aesthetic of Dead Letter Dept allows it to drive above the legal limit."
-Zoey Handley
The Gamer Review
https://www.thegamer.com/dead-letter-dept-silent-hill-severance-indie-horror/
“Dead Letter Dept. Is Silent Hill Meets Severance”
-Mike Drucker
The Gamer
https://www.thegamer.com/best-indie-games-january-2025/
“2025’s Mouthwashing”
-James Lucas
GameRant Review
https://gamerant.com/dead-letter-dept-review/
”…a potent experience that deserves a spot in the library of avid indie horror fans" -Sarah Fields
GameSpew Impressions
https://www.gamespew.com/2025/01/dead-letter-dept-impressions/
"…there’s so much more to this dark little mystery — so much that will stick with you long after you’ve finished playing, too."
-Kim Snaith
Punished Backlog Review
https://punishedbacklog.com/dead-letter-dept-review/
“Dead Letter Dept. scared us all in different ways. It left a chilling impression that got under our skin and keyboards, but we also couldn’t put it down. “
-David Silbert, Gary Wilson, Clint Morrison, Jr.
Video Games Are Good Review
https://www.videogamesgood.com/post/review-typing-is-terrifying-in-dead-letter-dept
“Dead Letter Dept. is an indisputable hit for the indie horror scene, and it succeeds by trying something new. By turning the familiar frightening, Belief Engine has a game that I’d recommend to anyone."
-Nate Hermanson
Thumb Culture Review
https://www.thumbculture.co.uk/dead-letter-department-pc-review
“I have to give DEAD LETTER DEPT. the Thumb Culture Platinum Award as it’s up there with some of my favourite horror games."
-Alex Crooks
Polygon
https://www.polygon.com/gaming/513941/typing-games-dead-letters-dept-cryptmaster
”…great scares set up by ominous narratives that play out over mail exchanges, clever audio cues and tech effects…"
-Cass Marshall
That VideoGame Blog Review
https://thatvideogameblog.com/team-review-dead-letter-dept-pc/
“Dead Letter Dept. Is psychological horror at its finest. This isn’t a game about jump scares, (although my soul left my body on at least one occasion,) it’s about the creepy feeling of being watched."
-Alex Southgate, Madeleine Acevedo
Games.ch Review
https://www.games.ch/dead-letter-dept/test/review-ljgD/
“Die Grafik, die Story, der Sound und das Gameplay arbeiten gemeinsam auf allen Ebenen und bieten einem dadurch ein fantastisches Erlebnis, das man so bisher nicht kennt."
-Fabrice Henz
Big Boss Battle Review
https://bigbossbattle.com/dead-letter-dept-review/
“This is a thoroughly unique experience that is worth the attention of gamers who feel they’ve seen pretty much everything."
-Rob Covell
VICE Interview
https://www.vice.com/en/article/dead-letter-dept-a-look-into-the-creation-of-an-indie-horror-classic-interview/
“I reviewed it back in January and upon playing it, the game immediately became one of my favorites. So, naturally, I had to reach out to Mike Monroe and Scott McKie, co-founders of Belief Engine, to learn more about this game."
-Anthony Franklin II
That VideoGame Blog Interview
https://thatvideogameblog.com/belief-engine-with-mike-monroe-scott-mckie/
STUDIO SPOTLIGHT / Belief Engine with Mike Monroe & Scott McKie
-Madeleine Acevedo
GameSpot’s Most Anticipated Horror Games (2024)
https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/most-anticipated-horror-games-of-2024-and-beyond/2900-5020/?
"[…]Dead Letter Dept. looks like one to keep an eye on. It’s already got a Steam demo, so you can see for yourself how creepy mail-sorting can be."
-Mark Delaney
GameSpot’s Most Anticipated Horror Games (2025)
https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/the-most-anticipated-horror-games-of-2025-and-beyond/2900-6114/
“With a hazy, nightmarish filter, Dead Letter Dept.’s data-entry and mail-sorting gameplay is already creepier than it would seem when you hear those words being used to describe it[…]"
-Mark Delaney
Kotaku
https://kotaku.com/indie-penance-day-resurgence-1847231469
“Dead Letter Dept. looks so creepy, just in the screenshots, which already have me hooked. But then I find out it’s described as “atmospheric typing horror” and I am contemplating violating long-held anti-pre-ordering beliefs. It stars you as someone working a data entry temp job, processing mail. But that mail starts to get weird."
-John Walker
PC Gamer
https://www.pcgamer.com/eek3-2021-was-another-treasure-trove-of-indie-horror-games/
“Dead Letter Dept., another entry for the typing games sure got strange list. You’ve got a job in data entry, typing up letters that for whatever reason couldn’t be delivered. A classic, soul-destroying dead end job. The letters shouldn’t sound like they’re written to you, right?"
-Jody Macgregor
‘Dead Letter Dept’ is an indie horror mystery about data entry.
Data entry never sounded so appealing
-Jack Grimshaw
Automation
https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/dead-letter-dept-20250110-324869/
-Akihiro Sakurai
Bloody Disgusting
https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3850165/psychological-horror-typing-game-dead-letter-dept-comes-to-steam-on-january-30th-trailer/
"[…]an atmosphere designed to get in under your skin."
-Mike Wilson
Bloody Disgusting
https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3889302/terminal-terror-four-new-games-that-find-horror-in-a-computer-screen/
"[…]the tone the game manages to achieve with its presentation and mechanics is so utterly unique that it’s easy to recommend checking it out."
-Aaron Boehm
Credits
Mike Monroe
Development, Belief Engine
Scott McKie
Additional Writing, Belief Engine
Contact
General Inquiries
press-contact@beliefengine.com
Bluesky
https://bsky.app/profile/skullthug.bsky.social