I urge you to playtest Abiotic Factor, a survival game about scientists trapped in a vast underground black site

So you're a scientist who works in one of those science-fictional giant underground research facilities—your Black Mesa, SCP Foundation, The Loop, what have you—and the day arrives where the big science catastrophe goes down and everyone's dying left and right and there's a horrible cascade of alternate dimensions and weird aliens pouring in. That's the setup for Abiotic Factor, an upcoming solo to six-player survival game that you can playtest for free, right now, via Steam.

For the non-science types among the readership, an abiotic factor is a non-living something that shapes an ecosystem. Weather, for example, or soil type. Presumably the abiotic factor here is "shattered boundaries between dimensions."

Anywho! What you've go there is a survival crafting game, per usual, but instead of being normal people or plane crash survivors cobbling together sticks and rocks into axes your characters are the literal smartest people on earth making gravity guns and shock prods out of computer parts and things they find in Stan the Security Guard's locker. Instead of wolves, your threat is extra-dimensional monsters and paranormal entities and an invasion by a semi-magical paramilitary sect that wants to steal all your stuff and kill you in the process.

"Containment procedures have failed and help isn’t on the way. Stranded miles beneath the surface, it’s up to you and your fellow scientists to band together, plan your escape, and make this underground complex your new home - for now," says developer Deep Field Games.

Abiotic factor also has character creation that lets you choose what kind of PhD your character specializes in, a vital aspect for scientific roleplaying and character creation. That's not just normal stuff like Plane Geneticist and Theoretical Physicist either—there's also fun to be had as a Kinesiologist, Structural Engineer, and the like. You can even be a Lab Assistant, if you're boring and lack life goals. All those character types give you skills, and there are drawbacks to take as well.

The open playtest is scheduled to last until January 1, 2024 at 12:00 PM PST, and is accessible via Steam.

You can check out Abiotic Factor on Steam alongside a guide to joining the playtest. You can find developer Deep Field Games on their website.

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.