The latest title from Sam Barlow, creator of Her Story and Immortality, along with his studio Half Mermaid, has been announced: it’s named Precognition. This sci-fi horror game is set to launch in spring 2028, as one of the initial releases from Phasmophobia developer Kinetic’s new publishing division.
In line with Barlow’s earlier works, Precognition revolves around exploring video clip archives to unravel a mystery. In this case, the archives consist of the future memories of the protagonist, Diana.
The premise sees Diana receiving an experimental implant that enables her to perceive visions of her future. During these visions, she can concentrate on specific moments and retain them in her memory. However, there’s a twist: by doing so, she triggers a butterfly effect that alters her future. The goal is to intentionally modify her memories to impact the outcome.
Currently, there’s little to show regarding Precognition. Yet, here are Sam Barlow, producer Natalie Watson, and Brandon Cronenberg discussing it. [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR78s95FONk).
Another remarkable aspect of Precognition is its collaboration with horror director Brandon Cronenberg, whom I may not be familiar with, but is known for films like Infinity Pool, Possessor, and Antiviral. I’ve heard of his father, David Cronenberg, who crafted iconic films such as The Fly. Brandon Cronenberg co-authored the story for Precognition alongside Barlow.
During a Q&A session after a showcase for Precognition that I attended, Barlow shared more insights about the game. “What’s really fascinating here is that Diana is a former child prodigy,” he started. “She possesses a photographic memory, and her mind is quite adaptable. She becomes involved in an experiment involving implants in people’s minds, supposedly to enhance or improve memory, and they discover an unforeseen effect of this device—it allows individuals to receive memories of the future.”
While everyone else quickly forgets what they’ve witnessed, Diana does not. “She has the ability to experience these visions, these glimpses of her future, and observe them, then select a moment from these memories to capture and remember,” Barlow explained. “As a player, you view these future visions, hold down the triggers, and that finalizes [it] in memory.
“Picture something akin to the film Memento, where the character wanders with his Polaroids: Diana is collecting Polaroids of her future. Thus, as a player, you have complete autonomy to determine ‘What do I think is crucial to send back – what significant information can I bring back from the future?’, and as soon as you make that choice, the future shifts, and you receive a new vision.”
You’re essentially gathering an “inventory of alternate possible futures,” Barlow clarified. Of course, you could do something mundane with this ability, like finding out the winning lottery numbers, but you could also pursue more intriguing avenues. “It might be revealing to discover that your long-term partner has been unfaithful with your sibling or something like that, right?” Barlow speculated.
There’s “an immense amount” of freedom in the game – it’s very systemic – and he mentioned that “you quickly enter this exciting gameplay [loop] of crafting and kind of shaping an inventory to influence the future … and it becomes thrilling and unpredictable”. There are additional layers to it, but that’s the core concept.
“This is the most comprehensible – I can’t use grok anymore, can I? Curse you, [Elon] Musk! It’s the most comprehensible mechanic in our games concerning a clear understanding of its significance in the narrative,” Barlow concluded. “It is a diegetic mechanic and has direct implications for the unfolding story.”
Precognition is being developed for PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and [Switch 2](https://www.eurogamer.net/platforms/switch-2).
