The Entity, an eldritch horror that exists between dimensions, is attracted to actions of great violence and malice. The Killers, mostly serial murderers or victims of terrible tragedy, are pulled out of reality by the Entity and convinced or forced to do its bidding. In order to maintain its existence, the Entity requires sacrifices and demands that they hunt and kill the Survivors so it can feed off their emotions and steal a piece of their souls upon death. In order to continue this hunt, the Entity blocks off the gateways of death and puts the Survivors into a dreamlike state that leads them back to the Entity’s purgatory-esque world to get hunted again.
The Survivors are pulled into the Entity’s constructed world when they wander into the woods or explore abandoned buildings, disappearing from the real world without a trace. More recent survivors have entered through other methods such as being taken right before they die, or sending themselves there by using magical symbols. They end up at a campfire in the woods, where they rest between trials until a Killer pursues them again. Each trial takes place in a series of realms constructed by the Entity of areas related to each Killer’s history. Escaping from the grounds always takes the Survivors back to the campfire, and offerings can be created to be burnt at it and appeal to the Entity. Since the Entity feeds off of Survivors’ hopes of escaping, it helps them just as much as it helps Killers, acting as an impartial observer of the hunt and stepping in only to claim those successfully sacrificed to it.
Each original Survivor and Killer also has their own individual backstory which explains their personality and their unique abilities, along with how they end up in the realm of the Entity. These backstories are expanded in "Tomes" where completing in-game challenges unlocks more information. These Tomes release every few months along side a battle pass known as "The Rift".