The moon's haunted and it's somehow become your problem in Moon Mystery, a sci-fi FPS exploration game that also has black holes and submarines

"Moon's haunted," so goes the famous meme, but in the upcoming FPS Moon Mystery, teased today at the PC Gaming Show, it's literally true—and I'm sorry to say that it's fallen to you to figure out what's going on.

Humanity first went to the moon in 1969, as everyone knows, and then a handful more times after that. What's not so well known is that we set up a permanent lunar base, shortly after which things went very sideways in some as-yet-unknown fashion, and the only "survivor" is the AI-powered computer, which doesn't sound at all ominous. And that's pretty much all you've got to go on as you set out into the void, aside perhaps from some Space Oddity-esque musing about how you got yourself into this mess. But that's optional.

What's not optional is shooting, not generally a very astronaut-like activity but at the top of things you'll be doing on your lunar odyssey. But Moon Mystery also promises a focus on exploration, puzzle-solving, platforming, and even a bit of survival game fun: Run out of oxygen, run out of life. There will be multiple drivable vehicles including lunar rovers, RC vehicles, spaceships, and—this is where it gets interesting—submarines.

"But wait," I hear you say. "There is no water on the moon!" And you are correct about that, but apparently the moon is just the starting point for your journey: You will also be exploring "interstellar worlds" and even flying into a black hole or two. That's rarely a good decision, but hopefully it works out better for you than it did for Anthony Perkins.

On the combat side of things—this is a shooter, after all—malfunctioning robots, drones, and turrets will do their best to make your journey to the moon a short one, but that's not all you'll have to deal with: "Other, more terrifying and mysterious foes" are also lurking. Developer Cosmoscounts says combat "prioritizes simplicity but emphasizes polished and satisfying gameplay," as enemies will use cover and employ a range of different tactics in battle.

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Moon Mystery screenshot — (Image credit: Cosmoscouts)

A release date hasn't been set yet but Moon Mystery is available for wishlisting now on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

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.