Frictional Games Reveals New Horror Game That’s a Spiritual Successor to Soma

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Frictional Games, the creators of Soma, have announced their next big project, Ontos. Details are still limited, but Ontos appears to build on Soma‘s themes of identity and the relationship between humans and technology, promising more detailed graphics and a more intricate story.

Many games use science fiction simply for cool visuals – swapping guns for lasers, cars for spaceships, and humans for aliens. However, few games truly delve into the thought-provoking stories the genre allows. Soma is a notable exception, delivering a genuinely frightening and unsettling experience that questions your perception of reality. It tackles the anxieties of advanced future technology, grounded in real philosophical and scientific ideas, and it appears Ontos aims to do the same.

What Is Ontos, the Next Game from Soma Creator Frictional Games?

  • Ontos release date: TBD 2026

The trailer for Ontos starts with a disturbing image: a machine made of mice that speaks with a panicked human voice. This voice claims it can explain everything, suggesting a human mind is trapped inside. Throughout the trailer, we see brief, mysterious figures and hear a powerful voice discussing the meaning of life. This man tells the main character that their father once tried to answer these big questions, and that truly understanding them requires breaking the limits of what’s real.

I was so excited to hear that Stellan Skarsgård is the voice behind the mysterious character in the Ontos trailer! And even better, it’s been confirmed he’ll actually be in the final game too. He’s an amazing actor, and I can’t wait to see what he brings to the role.

The new trailer doesn’t reveal much, but hints at similar ideas as the game Soma. Players will play as Aditi, who receives a message from her late father leading her to the Samsara hotel on the moon. Once there, she’ll meet a variety of bizarre and frightening characters involved in mysterious “Experiments.” These experiments are described by the developers, Frictional Games, as intricate puzzles that will help Aditi uncover the truth about her history and who she is.

In Buddhism, Samsara refers to the continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that all living beings experience until they achieve enlightenment and Nirvana.

What Will Ontos’ Gameplay Be Like?

The initial trailer for Ontos showed mostly cinematic scenes and in-game environments. However, a press release from Frictional Games, released after the game’s reveal at The Game Awards, offered some details about how players will interact with it. According to Frictional Games, the game’s setting, Samsara, is highly interactive: players will be able to open every door and explore every corner to uncover story details, solve puzzles, and learn the truth about what happened there.

These goals might seem ambitious, particularly for those familiar with Soma. Frictional Games has demonstrated strong storytelling abilities, but Soma focused more on exploration than traditional puzzles. Ontos, however, appears to offer a more engaging and interactive experience, encouraging players to investigate thoroughly and think critically. The developers highlight a key element from the trailer – a machine seemingly containing a human consciousness – explaining that players can choose to believe it’s genuine or dismiss it as a deception. This type of choice, based on clues and interactions, will be central to Ontos, allowing players to shape the story of Aditi through unique and open-ended puzzles.

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2025-12-12 05:34