PC (Microsoft Windows)2025

Skin Deep

Skin Deep is an immersive first-person shooter. We got sneezing. We got things getting stuck in your feet. Stalk through a vast non-linear starship and sneak, subvert, and sabotage to survive in this stellar sandbox. You're outnumbered, outgunned, and have no shoes. Welcome to Skin Deep!

Critics

Trailers

Screenshots

Very Positive

27 Steam reviews

Review History

Reviews

27 total

≥h

Steam User 5719STEAMRecommended

Skin Deep is a perfect game. It has a vision of what it wants to be and executes it with confidence and competence. Sure, it could be longer and/or have more variety, but I really can't find an obvious way it could be better. Fully worth the full price.

The stealth gameplay is really well thought out and has a lot of character. There are tons of little details, like having to point at a microphone for the duration of a dialogue, the enemies doing a check-in that you can impersonate, making you smelly when going through a trash chute... The different systems cohere into a nice, tight package.

The narrative and style of the game is wonderfully goofy, and the writing keeps up with confidence. Nothing pops out of the harmony. Solid, just solid.

Mar 11, 2026·17h·Verified

Steam User 1229STEAMRecommended

I haven't beat it yet, but so far, I love all the aesthetics of Skin Deep - the colors, textures, lighting, music, and the "fast-cut" presentation style from other Blendo Games all work great here. The levels are quite small (but dense), and most feel quite similar in size and layout. Each has a bit of theming or a neat "trick", but I would have loved to see this pushed further (more optional objectives on each level please!). The consistent structure of the levels was welcome though, as I could more effectively plan, and execute on that plan.

I somewhat agree with some of the negative reviews, in that it often feels too easy to simply stun, pounce, kill, and toss the head out of the airlock. Which is a shame, because there are tons of mechanics, and they all work together really well. Successfully executing on a plan feels really satisfying. So many of the verbs and systems in Skin Deep are totally unique - Skullsavers, becoming smelly, the walkie-talkie, the morse-code evac-pod signal, dust in the vents, manually cocking your guns. The way it handles the "combat alerts" is refreshing: it's not about simply hiding and waiting for things to get back to normal. The player must actively end the alert themselves. The Zoom Lens too - I really wish every immersive sim had this. The tutorialization of all these gameplay systems is so elegant - objects all have how-to labels (or warning labels), which give you just enough info to simply try them out and see what happens.

The game is full of little details like this, and you can tell a lot of care and consideration went into making it. I hope we see more Skin Deep levels and content in the future.

Mar 10, 2026·9h·Verified

Steam User 7369STEAMRecommended

Wonderful indie ImSim with a rather charming story.

The only real complaint would be ultra-widescreen support that is a bit rough around the edges. It
[i]works[/i], but stuff like screen filters can be cut off or stretched, and the edge of the camera will occasionally clip through world geometry during cutscenes.

Other than that, I'm more than satisfied with my purchase. I recommend it to any fan of the genre.

Mar 9, 2026·11h·1·Verified

Steam User 2539STEAMRecommended

`This game is great: super goofy and entertaining. Every ship has something unique you can utilize, but there is no single route too any ship. Very free to do whatever silly plans you can come up with.

Mar 8, 2026·14h·1·Verified

Steam User 8532STEAMNot recommended

I really want to enjoy this game but it runs so poorly, Walking into new sections of the ships destroys my fps and at times is just unplayable, Sure there's the option to uncap it with the Nvidia control panel but the screen tearing is insane, Literally tried everything until I found out the engine caps the game at around 63 fps, Real shame.

Mar 8, 2026·6h·Verified

Steam User 5075STEAMRecommended

Die hard with cats and slapstick

Mar 6, 2026·8h·2·Verified

Steam User 0250STEAMNot recommended

You may think that this game would be like Die Hard in space but you would be wrong. This is actually more like Happy Death Day in space as you re-do the same things over and over. Grab stuff, throw at enemy/pipe/window, jump on them, kill, do it again until level is over.

Okay so after you kill an enemy you need to take their skull and throw it out to space to stop them from coming back, but this adds nothing. It literally adds nothing other then making you have to walk back and waste time you could be spending on refunding this game.

Each level has its own little sub-objectives that add little to the level other then just making you look around a little more, they do not encourage you to play different.

The "deep stealth sandbox" part of the ads are a lie. This game has little to no variety between levels (aside from ONE where you can pilot a mech), you are literally breaking windows and causing explosions and shooting guns yet somehow enemy's will only hear that if you are next to them? Where's the enemy's coming to check out a gunshot or explosion?!

Then there is the story, OH MY GOD THE STORY. I feel so bad for the writers who had to write dialog for this ♥♥♥♥♥♥ story about cats in space. I felt NOTHING for any of the characters, Nina is just "action" the main bad guy is just "evil" and those two are the most fleshed out! The rest of the characters are just a grab bag of surface level personality traits. The actual story is just a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ revenge story in space! Do not try to say "Oh its meant to be like 60's movies" because that film of a horse running has better characters then this. I FELT MORE SADNESS AND EMOTION PLAYING A ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ PORN GAME ON NEWGROUNDS THEN THIS.

I wondered why there were so many cats in the game until the end where you fight not masked humans. Sid from the first Toy Story looks better then these blobs of clay.

In between levels you have to answer emails. I mean it when I say HAVE TO. These emails have no effects on the story despite the different dialog options and instead just suck up time you could be using to do the same thing over and over again.

Also the game does not encourage using any weapons aside from the ones they tell you to use. Wanna beat enemys with a teapot? HA! Get shot and die and revived?? Why do they let you come back from the dead and just stun all the enemies? This isn't like a difficulty option this is just a feature? Was this made for toddlers?

Overall the story, gameplay, gameplay loop, and graphics are all just kinda...Skin Deep. But seriously this game sucks do not buy it.

Mar 5, 2026·18h·3·Verified

Steam User 5727STEAMNot recommended

ahhhh this is a tough one to write. there's so much to like about this game, but also so much to dislike.

is it fun? it definitely has its moments. you will laugh and enjoy discovering some of the main mechanics. but the problem is the core loop gets stretched waayyy too thin. I've seen a few other reviews stating that they played deep into the game waiting for bigger & more interesting levels only to be let down, and I agree with that.

the foundation for a great stealth game is here, but the game as a whole is *less* than the sum of its parts. it's really let down by repetitive levels & mission content. once you've played the first 2-3 hours of the game, you've basically got the core experience. a few mechanics get added on here and there, but none of them change the core loop in any significant way.

it's very polished in some places, but then in other places it's severely broken. I watched multiple instances of enemies treadmilling into closed doors, enemies who didn't react to me despite standing right in front of them, and various other jank. it can be forgiven in other genres, but in a stealth game it's an experience ruiner.

at its best, it feels like a mashup of the best parts of Alien Isolation and the humor and vibe of NOLF 2. but those moments are very fleeting. it is a game that grasps fleetingly at greatness, but ultimately feels like a letdown.

inconsistency is the key word here. for example, the first meeting with Little Lion is a genuinely funny scene, but so much of the other writing you have to sift through in the game is tedious and detracts from the overall experience.

I'm a big fan of what Brendon Chung & the team at Blendo do, and this negative review is less of an "avoid this game" review, and more of a "this game could have been the great game a lot of people are saying it is with 6-12 months more dev time and some more curveballs to break up the tedious level & mission design"

not a bad game by any stretch, but I'm going negative because it's so frustrating to see how close it is to greatness, and how I kept waiting and thinking, "the next level is going to be the one where it all comes together" but that moment never came.

Mar 4, 2026·10h·Verified

Steam User 4617STEAMNot recommended

barely fun at times. The short level format really takes away that this is an immersive sim that has little variety and consequences are so high but are contained. By that I mean you can easily screw up a level and have an awful time but after you beat it the slate is wiped clean. It's way too basic for this genre. I was trudging along to see if it got better but hit a level ending bug that really irked me. When I broke a mirror on one of the later levels, it sucked my character in, only they didn't fully get sucked out the window. So, I got stuck in the point where I guess it starts to be space and it just wouldn't let me move at all. Spent 40 mins on that level only for that to happen. Yeah, stopped playing after that. Oh, also enemies are literal tanks that basically lead you to having to do one of the same 4 ideas to handle. There are way better games in this genre. This one is overrated.

Mar 4, 2026·3h·1·Verified

Steam User 7422STEAMRecommended

Like exactly what I've wanted from a stealth game

The way the game slowly introduced mechanics is phenomenal:
quick 5-20 second tutorial, then they throw you into a level with that mechanic

The puzzle aspect is awesome, since it is randomly chosen codes you have to look around for clues which I love.
Its so fun to track down a specific pirate because you found a note saying they have the code for X.

Its deeply satisfying to retry over and over to get the perfect run through, and equally satisfying to just forget all strategy and just GO.

HIGHLY recommend :)

Mar 3, 2026·6h·1·Verified

Steam User 1509STEAMRecommended

Peak Blendo!

Mar 2, 2026·13h·Verified

Steam User 8533STEAMRecommended

An excellent imsim. If you like the genre, you'll almost certainly like this.

Mar 1, 2026·16h·Verified

Steam User 8583STEAMRecommended

A little ugly, a lot janky, a lot delightful and neat.

Feb 28, 2026·4h·Verified

Steam User 1412STEAMNot recommended

Fun for the first 3 levels or so, until you realize you ahve absolutely no way of taking on enemies head to head, and if you're caught you may as well reload because you're going to die. But oh there's no save system, so everytime you're caught you have to restart the level. Miserable experience. Game is unplayable if you cant find pepper and soap on every level, because all enemeies take 7+ hits to kill, and after you hit them once they start blasting on you immediately killing you. Terrible experience. It's like it had the bones of a great Imsim but they dropped the ball horrifically.

Feb 27, 2026·5h·1·Verified

Steam User 7881STEAMRecommended

A short and sweet im sim with great presentation! I finished the game and all challenges in about 20 hours but I its quirks and clever level design will have me revisiting Skin Deep frequently. Its just packed with silly mechanics that actually make a meaningful impact on gameplay too: dust in vents make nina sneeze so you can't just lurk in the crawlspace, and going barefoot for stealth leads to picking glass out like Die Hard.
The game is divided into levels, and even the largest isn't terribly big. That combined with the limited saving discourages save scumming in a great way! I am definitely prone to using saves too much, but it was easy here to accept misplays and the chaos they can bring. Sort of an arcade one-more-round kind of feeling.
Not much in the way of story, but what is there is cute and well paced. They knew the assignment and wrote something that gives character to the game but doesn't exceed it in scope.
Just a really fun time, a small game bursting with weird mechanics and cool ideas!

Feb 25, 2026·21h·1·Verified

Steam User 8025STEAMRecommended

it's peak

Feb 24, 2026·28h·Verified

Steam User 0363STEAMRecommended

Muito bom

Feb 23, 2026·10h·Verified

Steam User 4461STEAMRecommended

Skin Deep looks like any other game in its genre at first glance, but it really isn’t. Once you get into it, it flips expectations in a way that makes it stand out immediately.

The gameplay feels fresh and unpredictable. It plays with mechanics in a way that keeps you thinking and adapting instead of just going through the usual motions. There’s a lot of small, clever details that make every encounter feel different.

What makes it really cool is how it doesn’t take itself too seriously while still delivering solid gameplay. It has personality, and that comes through in both the design and the moment to moment experience.

It might not look special on the surface, but once you actually play it, you realize there’s a lot more going on.

Way cooler than it seems, definitely worth checking out.

Feb 23, 2026·4·Verified

Steam User 3213STEAMRecommended

Enjoyable if you don't die of cringe from the millenial writing.
Level design and difficulty scaling are well done, though I'd say the game is just a little too easy in the middle parts. It wasn't too noticeable, but there were a few missions where I could reliably deal with enemies and more challenging ones hadn't yet been introduced.
I can see the value in all the mechanics except for one: manually racking a gun after a reload. It's realistic, yes, but it's such an unexpected and nonstandard mechanic (compounded by the rarity of usable guns in the game) that it got me killed more than once. There was never a time when ejecting a single live round from my gun would have been useful, so I can only assume it was intended to make firefights less viable.
The story was mediocre at best. I didn't care about any of the characters; the writing tries so hard to make everyone quirky and endearing that they all just fell flat to me. I felt the happy ending was undeserved and rushed. There are spans of missions where no plot progression is happening; why weren't these used as plot build up and character exploration so the ending was more believable? The final "fight" introduced its own special mechanic, giving the writer an opportunity to add some depth to the story at the end, but they settled for the blandest resolution ever.
Sound design was... interesting. It was mostly good, but they seemed to reuse some sounds for different things, leading to some confusion. That said, I do really like that things in the levels will call out to you if you're nearby and can use them, but are otherwise quiet: caged cats will beg for a rescue if you have a key you can use, health stations call out to you when you're wounded, etc. It's both a reminder to use them and an aid to help you locate them.
As for voice acting, it seems that's where a lot of the budget went. Unfortunately, I think the cats got most of the talent; they were genuinely cute with their call outs and thanks during the missions. I did not like the voice of the protagonist; I don't think it fit the model, and the performance felt emotionless. If it had been better, I may not have disliked her dialogue as much.
I'm recommending this game because the missions are fun and you do have to think outside of the box at times. I can see myself replaying them once or twice with higher difficulty settings or to complete all the bonus objectives. However, I can't see myself ever replaying the full story, unfortunately. It's too bland, too poorly paced, and the characters are too flat despite the writer's attempts to make them quirky and relatable.

Feb 23, 2026·12h·2·Verified

Steam User 0572STEAMRecommended

super creative creative and fun gameplay. the humor and story are on point as usual. blendo games always come with a certain charm in their titles

Feb 22, 2026·9h·5·Verified

Steam User 5623STEAMRecommended

Great Game, deserves more love.

Feb 22, 2026·26h·Verified

Steam User 3689STEAMNot recommended

I can't figure out how to save during a mission and I'm sick of repeating the first 3 minutes of a mission a dozen times.

Feb 21, 2026·5h·1·Verified

Steam User 2399STEAMRecommended

A really delightful Immersive Sim with great silly logic and great writing

Feb 19, 2026·24h·1·Verified

Steam User 6698STEAMRecommended

Such a delight - I love thirty flights of loving and gravity bone, but couldn't get too into quad cowboy, so I'm thankful this game clicked with me. Everything is so neat and funny and lived-in with this game, it feels as real as it is zany. atomizes down so much about what I love about playing imsims too.

in this time of my life, it feels like a divine gift to get to play a game that is lovingly created, vulnerable in it's quirks and shortcomings. to have other folks create a simulation just for you to explore and relish in. I think more than anything, blendo games', well, games understand themselves as that gift, and the moment at the end where they show you some of the models up close and talk directly to you reinforces that.

cherish the weird, imperfect art made with love by people who care.

Feb 19, 2026·11h·9·Verified

Steam User 3376STEAMRecommended

MEOW

Feb 18, 2026·12h·1·Verified

Steam User 2485STEAMRecommended

I'm a dog person, but this game is still great! Even for dog people!

Feb 18, 2026·15h·Verified

Steam User 7156STEAMRecommended

An imsim where I actually feel like I need to engage with the environment rather than just sneaking up behind every enemy and choking them unconscious. Instead I'm using a soap dispenser to create a flammable cloud and then tossing a bolt against the bulkhead to make a spark, exploding that pirate in a satisfying fireball.

Feb 15, 2026·16h·13·Verified

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