New Horror Game on Steam Puts a Psychological Twist on Sound Design

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If you enjoy psychological thrillers with surprising turns, you’ll want to check out Imprinted, a new horror game coming to PC in 2026. It’s a unique audio-based experience where you play as a forensic specialist, working to recover disturbing sound recordings linked to the occult. Imprinted offers a fresh take on sound design in games, requiring players to focus and fully immerse themselves in a chilling story revealed through haunting sounds.

Created by the experienced team at European indie studio Cobalt Lane, and featuring an original soundtrack from award-winning composer Filippo Beck Peccoz and musician Charlotte Oleena, Imprinted is a horror game striving to offer a fresh experience. Many recent indie horror games on Steam have successfully broadened the genre with innovative gameplay and storytelling. Games like Home Safety Hotline have tapped into retro gaming feels while creating immersive worlds. Imprinted aims to join these ranks by combining classic game mechanics with the popular “found footage” aesthetic, resulting in a unique and unsettling psychological horror experience.

Imprinted Horror Game Turns Sound Design into a Psychological Thriller

I’m really excited about this new game, Imprinted! You play as Vincent Brandt, an engineer who’s amazing at fixing up old cassette tapes and recordings. He takes a job helping to sort through evidence related to Viola Fossati, this incredibly enigmatic musician from the 70s who was involved in some pretty strange, occult stuff. She disappeared years ago, and the job involves digging through her lost recordings to try and piece together what happened to her. Apparently, as you play, you really get drawn into her world – I’ve heard it’s easy to become obsessed with finding out the truth! It sounds like it’s a detective story with a lot of mystery and even some supernatural elements. The game is all about using sound to tell the story and really tests how good you are at detective work and keeping your sanity while uncovering these dark secrets about Viola Fossati and what led to her disappearance.

I’m so excited about Imprinted! It has this incredible feature where you can actually boot up a computer within the game! It’s not just a visual thing either – it has a whole operating system called ArdesiaOS with working programs like media players and a web browser. You can even use the terminal! But it’s more than just messing around with a fake computer. You get to interact with Vincent’s life – reading his emails, chatting with his friends, and learning about him and the mysterious Viola. What’s really cool is you can influence Vincent’s art directly. You dig into his subconscious, uncover some dark secrets about his creative process, and even record your own versions of his music and lyrics! It sounds like a really immersive experience where you’re not just playing as Vincent, but actually shaping his story and art.

Image via Cobalt Lane

Imprinted is a slow-burn horror game that uses unsettling sounds and distorted recordings to create a deeply atmospheric and psychological experience. You begin by restoring old audio tapes, but soon discover something within the recordings is responding to you. The game explores how memories and experiences can leave a lasting mark on the world around us, even on sound itself. If you enjoy unraveling stories through found recordings, logs, and immersive environments, you can now add Imprinted to your Steam wishlist and stay tuned for updates – it’s coming in 2026.

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2026-01-12 22:35