SCP – Containment Breach is a popular indie horror game developed by Finnish game developer Joonas "Regalis" Rikkonen. It is based on stories from the SCP Foundation collaborative writing project. In the game, the player controls a human test subject, who is trapped in a covert facility designed to study and contain supernatural and paranormal phenomena all individually designated as an “SCP”.[2] The player must escape the facility when it suffers a failure in its protocol, causing the facility to lose control on the containment of the anomalies it houses, some of which are malevolent towards the player.
The game was released on April 15, 2012, and was updated periodically until its latest version, 1.3.11, on July 29, 2018.[3]
The game takes place in a SCP Foundation facility. The player controls one of the Foundation’s many test subjects, known as a Class-D: who must navigate the facility while avoiding various threats. The facility is procedurally generated, meaning the layout of the facility changes each time the game is played.
The game uses a first-person perspective, where the player can move and sprint freely. One notable feature is the blink mechanic: the player has a blink meter that gradually depletes, forcing the player to blink at specific intervals. This mechanic directly relates to SCP-173, which can only move when it is not in the player's line of sight. If the player blinks or looks away, SCP-173 advances through instant teleportation, and can kill the player if it gets close enough.[2]
The game has three difficulty levels, each with different save mechanics. On the easiest difficulty (Safe), the player can save at any point. On the medium difficulty (Euclid), the player can save only at designated points, and on the hardest difficulty (Keter), no saving is allowed (with the exception of the "Save & Quit" option) and the player faces permadeath.
The player can equip various items, from the likes of facility equipment to SCP assets. These items can either aid or harm the player.
The player can also uncover various documents and terminals detailing the various anomalies contained by the Foundation, as well as the schematics of the facility. These provide clues to the incidents leading up to and unfolding during the facility’s lockdown as well as providing information on how to avoid and or recapture a few of the SCPs, and how the internals of the facility can be used to the advantage of the player.
At the start of the game, the player is selected as a test subject for the study of SCP-173, a sculpture that comes to life when not in the direct line of sight of a human. During the experiment, the facility's systems malfunction, allowing SCP-173 to escape and kill the other test subjects and Foundation staff. The player character must escape the facility amidst the mayhem that follows.
If the player refuses to comply with the instructions of the facility’s staff, it will result in the player being warned, then executed. With the latter only occurring if the player continues to be uncooperative.
While venturing through the facility, the player encounters the various anomalies under containment of the SCP Foundation, learning first-hand of their fantastical properties. Alongside SCP-173, the player will have to survive against other hostile monsters, as well as a special ops force deployed to restore functionality to the facility known as the Mobile Task Force Epsilon-11, Nine Tailed Fox.
The game offers four ending sequences that occur depending on the player’s actions. Each is a variation of events that take place in one of two of the facility’s exits. A radio transmission at the end of the game according to each ending sequence provides further details of the aftermath of the player’s actions.
In the primary exit (Gate A), one ending involves the player being detained by the Foundation’s defensive personnel. But in the second version of this ending sequence, if the player did not manage to re-contain SCP-106, a decaying humanoid being that traps its victims into a pocket dimension of its make: then it shall spawn itself in the primary exit. Allowing for the player to make an escape while the Foundation attempts to incapacitate the entity. As the player finds an exit out of the facility, operatives of an anomalous paramilitary organization known as the ‘Chaos Insurgency’ shall spontaneously appear and take the player into their custody, with the player’s true fate unknown.
The endings in the secondary exit (Gate B) both revolve around SCP-682, a borderline indestructible reptilian monster: escaping captivity. The first variation of the secondary exit ending entails the facility's nuclear warhead being deployed. Taking the facility, alongside the player, with SCP-682 unfazed. However, if the player had previously deactivated the nuclear command and control of the facility, then it shall unfold the other variation of this ending. Where as the Facility’s personnel continue their struggle in re-capturing SCP-682, Epsilon-11 units will show up and gun down the player.
The game was created by Finnish developer Joonas "Regalis" Rikkonen. Before developing SCP – Containment Breach, Rikkonen worked on a simpler game called SCP-087-B based on the SCP-087 story. This project gained popularity, inspiring Rikkonen to create a larger-scale game incorporating more SCPs. The game was developed using the Blitz3D engine, which Rikkonen chose due to its simplicity and his familiarity with it.[4]
Rikkonen focused heavily on creating an immersive atmosphere, emphasizing environmental design and sound to enhance the horror experience. He used random map generation and randomized events to keep the gameplay tense and unpredictable. Rikkonen also implemented jump scares to heighten the tension, especially given the nature of SCP-173's mechanics.[4]
The game's success led Rikkonen to pursue formal education in game development at the University of Turku after completing upper secondary school.
The game received generally positive reviews for its atmosphere and innovative mechanics. Critics praised its ability to create tension and fear despite its low-budget graphics. Rock, Paper, Shotgun compared the game to the TV show Warehouse 13 but noted that SCP – Containment Breach offered a much more intense experience, focusing on fear rather than humor.[5]
Edge magazine noted the game's effectiveness at creating fear through its unpredictable nature, calling it "scarier than most recent big-budget horror games." Despite the game's simple graphics, its tension-filled gameplay was widely appreciated.[4]
The game was listed as one of the best free PC games by PC Gamer, which praised its use of the SCP mythos as a key component of its success.[6]
The game's premise and assets have been adapted into and inspired several other games, such as the multiplayer first-person shooter "SCP: Secret Laboratory", SCP: Unity, a remake of the game made in the Unity game engine. And the virtual reality remake SCP: Labrat.[7][8]