Frictional Games has released the first gameplay reveal for ONTOS, its upcoming sci-fi thriller from the creators of SOMA. The trailer makes its central idea clear: players are not being handed a single correct route through its experiments. They can follow the instructions, look for another answer, or sabotage the machine and deal with whatever follows.

Watch the official ONTOS gameplay reveal trailer on YouTube.

An experiment without a safe answer

The new footage centres on one of the game’s strange tests: a rodent machine that gives the player a set of instructions. The question is not just whether to obey it. ONTOS is built around the possibility of finding an alternative solution, or deliberately pushing the experiment off course out of curiosity.

That is a fitting first look at the systems-driven approach Frictional is promising. The studio says there is no objectively right or wrong solution, though each choice has consequences. It gives the gameplay reveal the same uneasy energy that made SOMA memorable, but with more room to manipulate the systems in front of you.

Welcome to Samsara

The setting is Samsara, a moon base that combines the ruins of a failed mining colony with an opulent hotel lost to time. Players take the role of Aditi Amani, drawn to the base by the legacy of her estranged father. What begins as a search for answers becomes a descent through cryptic experiments, fractured reality, and increasingly difficult questions about what is real.

The official site describes Samsara as a connected labyrinth of lunar caves, laboratories, casinos, theatres, and abandoned pools. That variety matters: it makes the base feel less like a conventional science-fiction facility and more like a place designed to keep changing the rules underneath the player.

What is confirmed

  • ONTOS is a sci-fi thriller from Frictional Games, published by Kepler Interactive.
  • Players control Aditi Amani on the moon base Samsara.
  • The game uses a tactile, systems-driven gameplay approach with multiple ways to respond to experiments.
  • Its story explores cryptic experiments, morality, and the question of what is real.
  • ONTOS is now planned for 2027; a specific release date and platform list have not been announced on the official site.

For official news and wishlisting, visit the ONTOS website or its Steam page.

This post covers details confirmed in the official gameplay trailer and game website as of August 26, 2026. Details can change during development.