Etre, a new third-person action adventure from Studio Lifeforms, invites players to explore an interconnected labyrinth of luminous architecture, solve spatial puzzles, and engage in fluid combat as they search for a lost love and influence the evolution of a colossal cosmic intelligence. The game draws inspiration from the science fiction of 1970s and '80s European graphic novels, alongside the aesthetic of Remedy's Control.
In Etre, players control Xyle, a caped protagonist who arrives at Orbis, a planet-sized sentient mind, in search of his soulmate Atel. Orbis is not merely a cerebral landscape but a living world inhabited by societies and factions at war. Players will also contend with corrupted 'angel tech' that has manifested as hostile living geometry. Success requires exploiting terrain, learning enemy behaviors, and acquiring new abilities that unlock access to previously unreachable areas, a design that has prompted the term "metroidbrainia".
Gameplay involves scanning objects to uncover lore documents and gain insight into the awakening psyche of Orbis. The narrative emphasizes player choice, with discoveries and actions shaping the ultimate form of Orbis. According to the Steam page, the player's influence can lead to the world being brought back into balance, the creation of a transcendent god-mind, or a more terrifying outcome.
While a release date has not yet been announced, the game's exploration of inner worlds and psychological landscapes has drawn comparisons to Double Fine's Psychonauts series.