SOMBRAS: Negative Frames to be fully exposed in December

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Photography-based first-person horror adventure coming this year to PC and consoles

In 2024, Maboroshi Artworks tugged at our hearts with the emotionally charged narrative adventure Last Time I Saw You. For an encore, rather than a sequel or even a similar sort of experience, the indie Japanese developer is going in a much different direction with the upcoming psychological horror game, SOMBRAS: negative frames.

Shiomi Alterio, a "photography student with Japanese and Spanish roots," is unhappy. Not only is she dealing with the emotional fallout of her parents' recent divorce, she's been forced to leave behind her life in Europe to live with her father in a "quaint Japanese town." Troubled minds tend to wreak havoc when left unchecked, and sure enough, one night Shiomi finds herself "engulfed by a dark dimension made of familiar streets, hungry shadows, and a cast of girls that look just like her." Trapped in a world manifested by her "repressed terrors," players must guide Shiomi home by "taking pictures of unusual sights, surviving unsettling encounters, and reuniting every single fragment of her broken self."

Almost a polar opposite of its side-scrolling, third-person predecessor, SOMBRAS is a first-person, free-roaming 3D adventure. Gone too is Last Time's romantic undertones, though the new game very much represents another journey of self-discovery, this time "exploring themes of youth, art, mixed identity, and dysfunctional family systems." Set in a Japanese town from the 2000s, a place that "seems to know [Shiomi] better than she knows herself," this is a "light horror narrative game" inspired by Tecmo's classic Fatal Frame (aka Project Zero). While exploring this "liminal world" you will "befriend alternate versions of yourself, get chased by repressed terrors, collect occult trinkets, and unlock the strange doors blocking your path forward."

The real key to success, however, is your camera, which is "more than a tool. It is the only way to make sense of the world around you." The camera allows players to "take photos of the impossible," whether from "strange scenes, hidden details, [or] unsettling moments." Of course, given the time period you'll then need to develop the pictures you take in order to "turn your shots into inspiration and progression." In time, you can even upgrade your camera to "reveal new secrets" along the way. The goal here is not so much to escape, but to finally confront the young protagonist with the memories, fears and issues of identity she's been desperately trying to avoid.

Prospective shutterbugs can already mark their calendars, as SOMBRAS: negative frames is due to launch on Steam for Windows PC on December 3rd, along with all major consoles, including both a digital version and Special Frame physical edition for PlayStation 5 that will include "a reversible cover, downloadable content and an artbook."