Instability [Horror]

Instability

Instability is a narrative horror and psychological survival mod for Minecraft (NeoForge 26.1.2). It adds a sanity meter, a creature that stalks players who are slipping into madness, a sinister cat named Rachel, and a story to piece together through the torn journal of Élise, a missing explorer.

⚠️ Warning: This mod contains jumpscares, horror effects, and flashing lights. It also contains AI-generated content (images, jumpscares). Not recommended for sensitive individuals or those with epilepsy.

The Concept

In Instability, staying in the dark causes you to lose your mind. An instability meter is displayed on the screen and increases by one level every 30 seconds as long as you are not safe:

Level	Name	What You Experience
1	Low	Everything is fine, for now.
2	Medium	Whispers, ambient soundscapes, occasional hallucinations. The creature may appear, but disappears if you look at it.
3	High	The screen shakes and darkens, and the fog thickens. The creature hunts you.
4	HELP	Screen almost black, camera sways violently, the meter flashes. Rachel appears at night.

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How to Stay Sane

• Light and fire: Being near a lit campfire or in a well-lit area "anchors you to reality" (Grounded state). The countdown stops and your sanity slowly recovers.

• Sleeping in a bed banishes your nightmares.

• The Comforting Plushie: When held in your hand, it pauses the panic. Right-click to soothe your mind (it lowers your instability level, but is consumed).

• The Anchoring Amulet: It slows down the increase of instability by half.

The Creature

Starting at level 2, a crooked-necked silhouette can appear near you. At level 3 or 4, it chases you. It kills an unarmored player in a single hit and triggers a full-screen jumpscare. To survive against it, you need armor, light, or an item that hurts it: the Plushie, the Anchoring Amulet, a torch, a soul torch, or a lantern double your damage against it.

Once killed, it drops a page from Élise’s journal or amethyst shards.

Rachel the Cat

At HELP level during the night, Rachel (a cat) appears around you and stalks you. Her hits can trigger a jumpscare (25% chance), and she inflicts one on you if she kills you.

A Story to Discover

Élise’s Torn Journal (right-click) tells through multiple entries how she lost her mind, how she created her plushie and amulet, and how to survive. The higher your instability rises, the more of Élise's memories and notes appear in the chat.

Game End: Killing the creature while you are at level 3 or 4 frees you permanently. Your meter stays at Low forever and nothing chases you anymore.

Emrys's Camp

An abandoned camp (campfire, shelter) generates near the world spawn. If you cannot find it, the command /instability locate tells you the nearest camp and its distance.

The messages from Emrys's camp and certain texts are in French due to a bug.

Items and Recipes

Item	Recipe	Effect
Comforting Plushie	White wool, 2 strings, leather, poppy	Pauses the panic, lowers instability
Anchoring Amulet	String, 2 gold ingots, amethyst shard, coal	Slows down instability buildup by 50%
Élise’s Torn Journal	Book, quill, black dye, amethyst shard	Tells the story

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A creature spawn egg is also available in Creative mode.

Settings

A client-side configuration screen allows you to adjust certain effects, such as fog darkening, to tailor the experience to your comfort level.

For Whom?

For players who love horror, atmospheric mods, and high-tension survival, and who want a Minecraft experience where every night without light becomes a danger.

Compatibility

• Minecraft 26.1.2, NeoForge 26.1.2.71 or newer

• Works in singleplayer and multiplayer

Credits

• Emrysplay: Tester

• Lechatetunebanan: Developer and tester