SOS Recordings signals intent for 2026 release

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Low-poly psychological thriller based on real unsolved mystery coming to Steam for PC

If you get lost in the woods, it's good to create an emergency SOS marker that can be clearly seen by air. Which is exactly happens in PackDev's upcoming psychological thriller SOS Recordings... except it turns out that's not the end of the story, only the beginning of an even darker tale based on "a real unsolved case."

It's July 1989 when a pair of hikers "vanish into the twisting forests and freezing rivers" of Japan's Mount Asahi. Fortunately, through the dense nighttime darkness a helicopter spots their SOS in time to rescue them. Problem solved; everyone lives happily ever after, right? Well, not so fast, because it turns out their rescue marker wasn't created by the hikers at all. Defying all explanation and apparently "built years before anyone was lost," the "colossal SOS" was perfectly constructed from "exactly nineteen birch trees, each five meters long, arranged in three flawless rows." How to explain this seemingly unsolvable enigma? As a detective now obsessed with a case you never wanted in the first place, it's your job to "listen to recordings and explore the hazy landscapes of Japan by foot, road and sky in an attempt to uncover the elusive truth."

Originally announced under the title SOS Incident, the rebranded SOS Recordings is a free-roaming, first-person 3D adventure that uses a low-poly art style to depict "mist-drenched pine forests, roaring black rivers, and serene meadows that suddenly drop into nothing." But beware letting yourself "get lost in the sights and sounds of Japan" as this is a mountain that "may not let you go." Controlled via keyboard/mouse or gamepad, the game tasks you with following the trail of the hikers, listening to any recordings you discover along the way. That will be easier said than done, however, as you'll begin to have difficulty discerning what is real as you "shine your flashlight into places that want to stay dark." The gameplay doesn't look to be very puzzle-centric, but nor is it a simple walking simulator, calling on players to "drive the long roads beyond the city," fly a chopper first-hand, and do anything else that "needs to be done," both to uncover the truth behind this surreal forest and to maintain an increasingly fragile grasp on your own sanity. 

There is no target release date for SOS Recordings just yet, but the game is due to launch on Steam for Windows PC sometime before the end of this year.