Japanese indie dev Shoei Sio, whose previous work includes the minimalist surreal adventure game Tatarian aster, has announced that their upcoming horror exploration game Cyan Heart is set to be released on October 8. A demo is also available via Steam.
Cyan Hearts’ gameplay centers on a rather unique premise – the protagonist, Sara, carries a camera that she keeps pointed at her face at all times, which serves as the player’s only viewpoint. As such, players will have to rely on audio and environmental cues alongside Sara’s facial expressions to determine what is going on in front of her.
The unorthodox camera system is complemented by an equally mind-bending story. In a world where life once revolved around a mysterious energy resource known as the Magenta Heart, which could mimic any physical phenomenon in perpetuity, society is threatened when this same energy takes on a cyan hue and grows unstable, imbuing machines and mankind alike with its colors and driving them to madness.
Players control Sara as she explores the depths of an abandoned facility suspected to hold the key to stopping this terrible course of events. You’ll solve puzzles and navigate obstacles as you lead her to her goal. Mysteries about the nature of the Cyan, Sara herself, and the camera she holds will gradually unfold as the game progresses.
According to Shoei Sio, who is a university student majoring in game design, Cyan Heart’s unique in-game camera is meant to serve as more than just a simple gimmick. “From the beginning of development, my vision was for the very ‘act’ of filming oneself to have narrative significance,” they explained. In an interview with Game*Spark last year, they also cited the anime series Serial Experiments Lain as a core influence on the game’s visual design.
Cyan Heart is coming to Steam with multi-language support on October 8. A Nintendo Switch release is also planned to release sometime in the near future.
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