Where Dolls Hang: Creating a Horror Game Inspired by Mexican Folklore

August 1, 2026 - 12:11

Ryan Portelli, the mind behind Steelkrill Studio, recently opened up about the long road to finishing his psychological horror game, Where Dolls Hang. In a new interview, Portelli detailed how he took inspiration from Mexican folklore and wove it into a tense, first-person nightmare. The game does not just rely on jump scares. Instead, it tries to get under the player's skin by mixing real psychological dread with supernatural events that feel grounded in a specific cultural history.

Portelli explained that the core idea came from a simple image: a room full of hanging dolls. But he did not want that image to be just a creepy set piece. He wanted it to mean something. So he looked into Mexican stories about dolls, particularly the legend of the Isla de las Munecas, or Island of the Dolls, where a man hung dolls to appease a spirit. That legend became the backbone of the game's story. The player is not just running from a monster. They are uncovering a story about loss, guilt, and the belief that objects can hold onto the past.

The tricky part, Portelli said, was balancing the two sides of the game. On one hand, he wanted a slow burn, a sense of isolation and unease that comes from being alone in a strange place. On the other hand, he needed the folklore to feel real and active, not just a background detail. He solved this by making the dolls themselves the bridge between the two. They are both physical objects you can touch and carriers of a supernatural presence. The player has to learn why the dolls are there, and that discovery is what drives the horror forward. Portelli also noted that he wanted to respect the source material, not just use it as a cheap costume. The goal was to make a game that feels personal, and that lets players walk away thinking about the story long after they turn off the screen.