Immortality creator Sam Barlow announces sci-fi horror game Precognition

Sam Barlow, the developer behind Her Story and Immortality, has unveiled his next project, a sci-fi horror game titled Precognition. The game is being developed by Half Mermaid Productions and features a narrative collaboration with filmmaker Brandon Cronenberg, known for his work on Infinity Pool and Possessor. The title is currently scheduled for a spring 2028 release and will be published by Kinetic, a new label from the team behind Phasmophobia.

The game centers on a protagonist named Diana, a former child prodigy with a photographic memory who participates in a 1990s brain implant experiment. While the procedure is intended to enhance memory, it results in an unintended side effect: patients begin receiving visions of their own future. Unlike other subjects who quickly forget these experiences, Diana retains them, allowing players to collect specific moments and commit them to memory.

Barlow described the core mechanic as a diegetic system where players act as editors of their own destiny. By choosing which future memories to collect, players trigger a butterfly effect that alters the timeline, generating new visions. Barlow compared the process to the film Memento, noting that players essentially curate an inventory of potential futures to steer the outcome of the story. He emphasized that the game is highly systemic, offering significant freedom in how players navigate and manipulate these branching paths.

The narrative is set in the 1990s, a choice Barlow made to ground the story in a specific era of science fiction horror rather than focusing on futuristic technology. He noted that the project began as a conceptual daydream about creating an FMV-style Metroid game, drawing inspiration from the visor reflection mechanics in Metroid Prime. While the initial idea was intended to be a smaller, more manageable project, Barlow stated that the scope expanded significantly during development.

Precognition is currently in development for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and the Nintendo Switch 2. While specific gameplay footage remains limited, the developer has positioned the title as a complex exploration of dark, near-future scenarios and the consequences of having the power to foresee and change one's own life.