The Pale Beyond

The Pale Beyond

Released Feb 2023

You didn’t ask to lead this expedition, but here you are. Stuck in the ice, Captain missing, miles from civilisation. Someone has to take charge. Manage your meagre resources, balance safety and morale, make the hard calls, and head in the only direction you can - through The Pale Beyond.

88% positive · 2,252 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence

Where to buy

Prices in USD, as listed by each store.
Buying through an affiliate store helps support the site

Evaluation

The Pale Beyond launched on February 24, 2023, as a complete narrative game. Following launch, Saltstone Studios issued a series of post-launch patches through mid-2023: save system improvements (March 8, 2023), widescreen support (April 11, 2023), new difficulty modes (May 4, 2023), and expanded epilogue scenes for surviving characters (July 30, 2023). That July 2023 epilogue update represents the last substantive content addition to the game. After July 2023, developer communications shifted away from The Pale Beyond itself. A physical Nintendo Switch edition was released through Super Rare Games in October 2025, and minor security and compatibility patches were issued in October 2025, but these are maintenance updates rather than new content. By September 2025, Saltstone Studios announced their next game, The Hearth & Harbour, a new restaurant management RPG set in the same universe as The Pale Beyond. A June 2026 showcase confirmed the new game is targeting a 2026 release. These announcements make clear the studio has moved on to a new project, with no new content announced or planned for The Pale Beyond. All three DLC items (the deluxe soundtrack, digital artbook, and original soundtrack) were released on launch day. There are no unreleased DLC entries on the store. The game launched as a complete narrative experience and received a modest post-launch content pass through July 2023, after which development concluded.
Evidence
Saltstone Studios announced The Hearth & Harbour, a new game set in the same universe as The Pale Beyond, signalling the studio has moved to a new project.
news post · Sep 10, 2025 source development ending
high
Epilogues Update (1.5.0.0) expanded epilogue scenes for core surviving characters — the last substantive content addition to the game.
news post · Jul 30, 2023 source content shipped
high

Content

3 of 3 released · no outstanding content

Media

Details

Publisher
Fellow Traveller
Achievements
47
Platform
Windows, macOS
Controller
full support
Steam Deck
Verified
Players
Single-player

About this game

Five years ago, The Viscount and its crew set sail through The Pale Passage in search of absolute magnetic South. The ship and its crew were tragically lost to the ice, never to be seen again. Her sister ship, The Temperance shall follow in her path, hoping to find answers where The Viscount failed.

A polar exploration game set in an unforgiving frozen wasteland where you embark on a treacherous voyage across the ice and through the Pale Beyond. It’s a stunning yet harsh landscape that can change at any moment.

Every decision matters and the ice doesn’t care.

As the expedition unfolds and the Polar Winter approaches, every decision you make will have a meaningful impact on the story as you navigate your way across the ice.

You didn’t ask to lead this expedition, but here you are. Stuck in the ice, Captain missing, miles from civilisation. Someone has to take charge.

Manage your meagre resources, balance safety and morale, make the hard calls, and head in the only direction you can - through The Pale Beyond.

Keeping the crew (and sled dogs) safe, fed, and warm during the expedition is imperative. Surviving the ice will matter little in the face of a mutiny. Every vote will count. So keep the crew on your side.

Featuring original musical compositions, shanties and accordion tunes that will dynamically evolve alongside your journey.

ABOUT THE DEVELOPER

Saltstone Studios is located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Their first game was The Pale Beyond, a story-driven survival management game.

The team is interested in exploring novel systems-based narrative games that combine the kind of deep choice and consequence narratives you find in interactive fiction, with extensive systems more common from other genres - all designed to bring in-depth worlds and characters to life.

Each title draws direct influences from the complex history of Ireland and Britain, with extensive literary and historical research. Every pixel, sentence, and musical note, is hand crafted in house with care and attention.

Last evaluated Jun 25, 2026
Something about this evaluation looks wrong Report illegal or harmful content