The Game Census
the static speaks my name cover art

the static speaks my name

the whale husband · 2015-08-10

Steam

AdventureIndieRPGFree To Play

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: First person

Releases: Aug 10, 2015 (Mac), Aug 10, 2015 (Linux), Aug 10, 2015 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

A dark/sad/weird/funny first person exploration game. You play a man on his last night alive as he obsesses over a mysterious painting. More of a story game in that it emphasizes mood and character over gameplay. Takes ten minutes to play and has "next-gen" features like a shrimp tank.

the static speaks my name is a 2015 Adventure, Indie, RPG and Free To Play game that is free-to-play, with a Very Positive review sentiment (82% of 5801 reviews) and an estimated 200,000 .. 500,000 owners.

0
playing now
82%
positive of 5.8k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
200,000–500,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
62/100
IGDB user rating (29 ratings)
0.6h
to beat · rushed 1h · completionist 1h
pending
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Unknown
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: 0
Free
steam price (US)

0 players in-game as of 2026-10-15 04:00 UTC (census sample)

The Static Speaks My Name is a video game released in 2015 by Jesse Barksdale under the name 'the whale husband' for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux. Described as a "dark, sad, weird and funny first-person exploration game (that) emphasizes mood and character over gameplay," the game is a horror-themed adventure game in which the player performs the last routines of a suicidal man obsessed with a painting. The Static Speaks My Name was praised by critics for its unique tone and unusual partnership of disturbing and absurd themes.

Trailer

the static speaks my name trailer thumbnail

the static speaks my name (trailer)

≈650,538 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 0 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 155 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~19/week).
  • · Review velocity up 1% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 5% of 29,025 Adventure games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-28

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
434320182026Week of 2018-01-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 7 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

302026-09-15 13:00 — 0 players2026-09-16 22:00 — 3 players2026-09-18 05:00 — 1 players2026-09-19 13:00 — 0 players2026-09-20 20:00 — 2 players2026-09-22 04:00 — 2 players2026-09-23 11:00 — 0 players2026-09-24 19:00 — 2 players2026-09-26 02:00 — 2 players2026-09-27 10:00 — 0 players2026-09-28 17:00 — 1 players2026-09-30 01:00 — 2 players2026-10-01 08:00 — 1 players2026-10-02 16:00 — 1 players2026-10-04 00:00 — 0 players2026-10-05 08:00 — 2 players2026-10-06 15:00 — 0 players2026-10-07 23:00 — 0 players2026-10-09 06:00 — 0 players2026-10-10 14:00 — 0 players2026-10-11 21:00 — 3 players2026-10-13 05:00 — 0 players2026-10-14 12:00 — 0 players2026-10-15 04:00 — 0 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
431Aug 2015Apr 2026Aug 2015 — avg 43 · peak 151Nov 2015 — avg 4 · peak 23Feb 2016 — avg 6 · peak 83May 2016 — avg 3 · peak 11Aug 2016 — avg 3 · peak 18Nov 2016 — avg 2 · peak 8Feb 2017 — avg 2 · peak 11May 2017 — avg 2 · peak 8Aug 2017 — avg 2 · peak 7Nov 2017 — avg 1 · peak 6Feb 2018 — avg 2 · peak 8May 2018 — avg 2 · peak 11Aug 2018 — avg 2 · peak 8Nov 2018 — avg 1 · peak 7Feb 2019 — avg 1 · peak 7May 2019 — avg 1 · peak 6Aug 2019 — avg 1 · peak 6Nov 2019 — avg 1 · peak 6Feb 2020 — avg 1 · peak 5May 2020 — avg 1 · peak 6Aug 2020 — avg 2 · peak 7Nov 2020 — avg 1 · peak 5Feb 2021 — avg 3 · peak 8May 2021 — avg 2 · peak 6Aug 2021 — avg 3 · peak 8Nov 2021 — avg 2 · peak 6Feb 2022 — avg 3 · peak 12May 2022 — avg 2 · peak 7Sep 2022 — avg 2 · peak 9Dec 2022 — avg 1 · peak 6Apr 2023 — avg 2 · peak 5Jan 2024 — avg 2 · peak 9Oct 2025 — avg 2 · peak 7Mar 2026 — avg 3 · peak 10Apr 2026 — avg 2 · peak 6
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Attention

3362026-05-30 — 16 pageviews2026-06-03 — 15 pageviews2026-06-07 — 13 pageviews2026-06-11 — 26 pageviews2026-06-15 — 15 pageviews2026-06-19 — 21 pageviews2026-06-23 — 15 pageviews2026-06-27 — 23 pageviews2026-07-01 — 16 pageviews2026-07-05 — 10 pageviews2026-07-09 — 12 pageviews2026-07-13 — 14 pageviews2026-07-17 — 17 pageviews2026-07-21 — 13 pageviews2026-07-25 — 15 pageviews2026-07-29 — 20 pageviews2026-08-02 — 9 pageviews2026-08-06 — 9 pageviews2026-08-10 — 7 pageviews2026-08-14 — 16 pageviews2026-08-18 — 12 pageviews2026-08-22 — 11 pageviews2026-08-26 — 7 pageviews2026-08-30 — 15 pageviews2026-09-03 — 7 pageviews2026-09-07 — 16 pageviews2026-09-11 — 12 pageviews2026-09-15 — 8 pageviews2026-09-19 — 7 pageviews2026-09-23 — 10 pageviews2026-09-27 — 11 pageviews2026-10-01 — 10 pageviews2026-10-05 — 17 pageviews2026-10-08 — 19 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxSingle-playerFamily Sharing

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

RPGDarkIndieShortHorrorSurrealAdventureAtmosphericExplorationMultiplayer

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

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Similarity via IGDB.

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