For years, Nintendo fans have dreamed of seeing Eternal Darkness make a much-needed return. When Bloober Team announced they would develop a game exclusively for Nintendo hardware back in 2023, speculation ran wild that the Polish horror specialists might be resurrecting Silicon Knights’ cult classic psychological thriller. However, recent trademark filings suggest something entirely different is brewing.
According to recent discoveries, Bloober Team and Broken Mirror Games have filed a trademark for “Onyx: The Dark Grip” in Europe, with the application listing categories that include video games and related digital entertainment. The studio has also ramped up the hype by posting a cryptic teaser on X featuring a countdown to February 15th, strongly suggesting an official reveal is imminent.
What We Know About Onyx: The Dark Grip
The trademark filing indicates this will be a Switch and Switch 2 exclusive title, continuing Nintendo’s longstanding tradition of partnering with third-party developers for the mature-rated experiences their developers don’t normally deliver. Over the years, the company has successfully collaborated with external studios to bring darker, more adult-oriented games to their platforms—from PlatinumGames’ over-the-top MadWorld on Wii to the stylish demon-slaying action of Bayonetta, and even Ubisoft’s Red Steel. This approach allows Nintendo to diversify its typically family-friendly catalog without developing such content in-house.
This Nintendo exclusive project was previously known by its codename “M“, and eagle-eyed fans may have already glimpsed it through a live-action teaser that appeared on Broken Mirror Games’ YouTube channel early last year. For those unfamiliar, Broken Mirror Games serves as Bloober Team’s label specifically for projects co-developed with partner studios or publishers—in this case, Nintendo.
Little concrete information exists about what Onyx: The Dark Grip will entail, but Bloober Team’s involvement offers some hints. The studio has built its reputation on atmospheric, psychologically-driven horror experiences, and they’ve been on a creative streak recently after vowing they’re done making “shitty games.” Their Silent Hill 2 Remake received widespread acclaim for respectfully updating a survival horror masterpiece, while their upcoming original IP, Cronos: The New Dawn, has generated considerable buzz as well.
Final Thoughts
While this won’t be the Eternal Darkness sequel that many Nintendo faithful have been hoping for, Bloober Team’s recent track record suggests Onyx: The Dark Grip could deliver something special in its own right. The studio has recently proven they understand what makes survival horror games work, both when remaking classics and creating original properties.
With the countdown timer ticking down to February 15th and the cryptic teaser building anticipation, we won’t have to wait much longer to learn what nightmares Bloober Team has crafted for the Nintendo Switch family. Whether this exclusive partnership yields another horror gem or simply scratches a different itch for mature gaming experiences on Switch remains to be seen, but there’s a lot to be excited about either way.
