Past Cure trailer reveals the struggles of a man tormented by shiny muscular mannequins

Past Cure was announced in February as a single-player stealth-action game that takes place in two distinct realms, "the gritty real world and the abstract dream world—a concept that will remind fans of the Hollywood blockbuster Inception," developer Phantom 8 said at the time. It tells the strange tale of a man named Ian, a "highly decorated ex-elite soldier" who is now in pursuit of the people who performed secret experiments on him in a dark prison in Europe.

Those experiments left him with unique powers, including telepathy and telekinesis, but at the cost of his sanity. His madness manifests in his dreams, but it's begun to break into the waking world as well. Now, with the aid of his brother Markus and a "mysterious double agent" named Sophia, he pursues the men in the shadows, taking on Eastern European criminal cartels, unscrupulous scientists, secret organizations, and even "an adversary who does not seem to be of this world."

It's all a bit bewildering, and to be honest the new trailer released today doesn't go a long way toward clearing up what it's all about. There's a good bit of shooting and some Deus Ex-style ductwork sneaking, which is always fun, but the "rewiring puzzle" that flashes briefly by looks more like something you'd see in a casual adventure, and I have no idea what to make of the bits that appear to take place in an Aperture Science lab. Topping it all off, the website at phantom8.com describes Past Cure as equal parts action, stealth, thriller, and horror, with "deep character [and] unexpected twists and turns packed into an action thriller topped with a family drama."

Understandable confusion aside, I think it looks at least interesting enough to be worth keeping an eye on. A release date hasn't been set, but it's expected to be ready for release around the end of this year.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.