Back in 2024, Immortality creator Sam Barlow teased a new thing codenamed Project C. During today's Kinetic Publishing Showcase, it was finally unveiled as Precognition, a sci-fi thriller being developed in a collaboration between Barlow's Half Mermaid Productions and horror director (and son of David) Brandon Cronenberg.
Precognition will set players off as Diana, a woman who receives an experimental brain implant that gives her visions of the future. But in the fine tradition of Cassandra and quantum mechanics, it's not all upside: By exploring her visions and committing them to present-day memory, Diana changes the future she's seen.
"We’ve really been trying to test the limits of non-linear storytelling, focusing on how the game feels to play, while encouraging player agency and freedom," Barlow said. "We’ve pushed ourselves even harder with Precognition by bringing the feel of investigation and mystery games into a world of cause-and-effect, with a story that spins out as a consequence of your choices."
Barlow opted to partner with Cronenberg on the new game because he wants it to be "a very authentic sci-fi horror experience," and Cronenberg—who's played Barlow's previous games Immortality and Her Story—understood the assignment.
"The films I make tend to be subjective and experiential, with the horror emerging as one person’s perspective of the world warps around them," Cronenberg said. "The games that Sam and the team have made over the years are subjective experiences by their very nature—no two people will have the same experience with them. So it’s the perfect place to explore these themes further."
Precognition "follows in the footsteps of Immortality," the announcement promises, with a blend of FMV cinematics, non-linear storytelling, and an emphasis on player freedom. That sets a very high bar to clear: Immortality earned a nearly unheard-of 95% score in our review as "Sam Barlow's best, most thought-provoking game yet." Score aside, that accolade itself is no small feat given that its predecessors, Telling Lies and Her Story, are genuine bangers themselves.
Whether Precognition will up the ante as Immorality did remains to be seen, and this is the bad news for fans of Barlow's games: It's currently expected to be out in spring 2028. For now, you can throw it on your wishlist pile on Steam.
