ONTOS Is a New Sci-Fi Mystery Game From Frictional Games

December 17, 2025

ONTOS is the next major project from Frictional Games, the studio known for Amnesia and SOMA. Announced for PC and consoles during the Game Awards 2025, the game is scheduled to release in 2026 and is already available to wishlist on Steam. While it carries the studio's familiar sense of unease, ONTOS is not positioned as a traditional horror game. Instead, it aims to explore science fiction themes through slow tension, environmental storytelling and complex systems.

Rather than relying on constant threats or scripted scares, ONTOS focuses on curiosity, discovery and the unsettling feeling of uncovering truths that might have been better left alone.

A Story Rooted in Science and Identity

In ONTOS, players take on the role of Aditi Amani, an engineer who arrives at a remote and deeply strange location known as Samsara. Once envisioned as a luxury moon hotel built on top of a failed mining operation, Samsara is now abandoned, decaying and filled with remnants of unfinished experiments.

The narrative centers on Aditi's personal connection to the place, including the legacy of her father and the events that shaped her past. As players explore Samsara, they uncover fragments of history, research logs and environmental clues that slowly piece together what went wrong and why reality itself seems unstable within the facility.

True to Frictional Games' style, the story raises questions about consciousness, suffering, responsibility and the limits of scientific ambition. Answers are rarely handed out directly, encouraging players to reflect and draw their own conclusions.

Gameplay Focused on Systems and Exploration

ONTOS places heavy emphasis on systems driven gameplay. Instead of combat or fast paced action, players interact with machines, tools and experimental devices that respond to logic and physical rules.

Gameplay revolves around observation, experimentation and problem solving. Players must learn how different systems interact, how resources can be repurposed and how small changes can create unexpected outcomes. Many challenges allow for multiple solutions, rewarding creativity and careful thinking rather than reflexes.

This design philosophy makes the experience feel personal. Progress is not about following a checklist, but about understanding the world and using that knowledge to move forward.

An Unsettling Yet Grounded World

Samsara is designed to feel both surreal and believable. Lavish casino halls sit next to research labs, while luxury architecture clashes with industrial mining infrastructure. Overgrown areas, collapsed tunnels and improvised workspaces tell silent stories about the people who once lived and worked there.

Frictional Games uses environmental storytelling heavily, allowing players to piece together events simply by paying attention to their surroundings. The setting is meant to feel lived in, abandoned in a hurry and altered by experiments that went far beyond their intended scope.

Release Platforms and Availability

ONTOS is planned for release in 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The game is currently available to wishlist on Steam, where it is described with tags such as sci-fi, mystery, exploration, philosophical and surreal.

While no exact release date has been announced yet, ONTOS is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing narrative driven sci-fi games on the horizon, especially for players who enjoyed the slow burn storytelling of SOMA and want something equally thoughtful but mechanically deeper.

Why ONTOS Is Worth Watching

ONTOS represents Frictional Games pushing further into systems based design without abandoning the atmospheric storytelling they are known for. It is not trying to shock players at every turn. Instead, it builds tension through uncertainty, discovery and the uncomfortable implications of its themes.

For fans of science fiction that asks difficult questions and games that trust players to think for themselves, ONTOS is a project worth keeping a close eye on.