After working on Ontos for over a decade, it is incredibly exciting to take a deep dive into the gameplay. Ontos is a spiritual successor to Soma, posing deep philosophical questions to players. Because of this, it is also always hard to figure out how to make it understandable in a short video. The focus of the game is not a tight, moment-to-moment gameplay loop, but a slower-paced experience of researching, testing, and eventually making a few critical choices. Now that we have a chance to showcase 10 minutes, it feels much easier to convey the intended feel of the game.
The main idea of the game is that you encounter complex experiments, each with its own setup, questions, and philosophical dilemmas. In this video, we get to see Crombie, who has been trapped in a computer server made of rats. Or at least that is what he says…
As you can see in the video, the game starts by exploring nearby locations. These are often filled with information that helps you better understand the people and issues involved. In this case, there is even a small experiment, a strapped-in rat, that gives a taste of the difficulties to come. Here, players can test theories and make mistakes before encountering the main experiment.
Another early character is Zike – who we hear briefly over an intercom. Zike is a man seemingly obsessed with finding the soul. Understanding stuff like this is not just fun lore, but a critical part of the game. The better you understand how a character works, the more informed decisions you can make. Sometimes it is best to avoid certain questions or give answers contrary to your own feelings to achieve the intended results.
Once we enter the lab, we finally get the Rat Server revealed. I love this setup. Our thinking behind it was just to let a person be made from something that feels highly unlikely. Someone being simulated by a computer is not so hard to accept in this day and age. But by 60 rats strapped to a server rack? That is a harder pill to swallow. The hope is that these setups act as catalysts to other thoughts and questions. Are the rats conscious too? Can two conscious beings inhabit the same physical substrate? This is a good taste of what we want to provide in Ontos.
After you have met the Crombie (or the rat server, however you wanna feel about the situation), it is time for an experiment. You need to manipulate the probes on the Crombie’s head delicately. Now the player faces many options. You can follow the instructions or try other things based on things you’ve seen and read. The goal with all of this is to create a tense scene by mixing goals, unclear instructions, and always the risk of royally screwing it all up.
The experiments can end in many ways, and it is never clear what your options even are. This also makes the game very replayable. The more you play, the more you understand, and the clearer the approaches will be.
Ontos comes to PS5 in 2027, and you can wishlist it now.