Demo landing spotted for UFOPHILIA on Steam

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Co-op or single-player search for aliens to commence next year on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series platforms

There have been plenty of hi-tech ghost-hunting adventures in recent years, but indie developer K148 Game Studio has a different kind of otherworldly being in mind for its next project, which you can probably guess from the title of UFOPHILIA.

Yes, aliens among us seem to be even more elusive than spectral remnants from the other side, and this is your chance to be the one to finally make first contact (at least, first contact not involving anal probes and mind wipes). Players step into the first-person role of a UFO-obsessed investigator who heads to "remote locations full of anomalies" in order to find, identify, and photograph evidence of various extraterrestrial visitors. You'll be fully equipped with the latest specialized technology, but none of those will help you defend yourself in a crisis. Facing any number of "terrifying phenomena, unique behaviors and unpredictable dangers," you'll find that "some aliens are aggressive, others curious, even playful," but one thing is for sure: As you're there to watch them, so too are they watching you. Make poor decisions and you may just find yourself the latest victim of unexplained alien abduction. 

As with the developer's DETECTIVE series (Minerva Case, The Motel and the upcoming Rainy Night, among others), UFOPHILIA is a free-roaming 3D adventure that tasks you with solving a mystery. This time it's not whodunit, however, but rather whatisit (and where) you'll be trying to solve, in a game that promises to blend "atmospheric horror with investigative gameplay." You don't have to go it alone in facing "tension-filled missions where the line between fascination and fear grows dangerously thin," as you can also play with others in local co-op if you wish. Either way, you'll select a mission from various reports of "close encounters," equip yourself with the likes of "EMF detectors, night vision cameras, remote microphones, microwave meters, and more," determine the spot where the disturbance first appeared, and then capture the intruder on film according to the unique criteria for each that enable you to get close enough to take a picture.  

Adding a significant degree of replay value to the experience is that "each mission is random," so that "spawn areas, alien types, and phenomena are constantly changing [so] you never know what type of alien you’ll encounter." There are nine different types of visitors with "distinct behaviors, reactions, and weaknesses," which you can research using the in-game UFOPHILIA software. But even forearmed with knowledge, proper execution is critical, as a built-in point system allows you to "unlock upgrades, new tools, and missions," and "the more missions you complete, the more missions you'll unlock." The outcome of each assignment, of course, depends on your performance, with multiple possible endings and ranks, from "Forum Conspiracy Theorist to the prestigious Roswell Agent." 

The complete version of UFOPHILIA isn't due to land until sometime next year on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series platforms, but you can start chasing little green men in flying saucers right away through the playable demo available now on Steam.