Podoba Interactive, a studio known for rural horror, has announced its latest project, "I Hear the Forest." This upcoming folk horror game casts players as a forest ranger who finds themselves cursed and experiencing the woods in a decidedly unrelaxing manner. The game is slated for a 2027 release and will be available on Steam.
The gameplay loop involves familiar ranger activities such as picking mushrooms, fishing, and cooking, but these are juxtaposed with supernatural occurrences. Players will encounter talking trees, begging dryads, and floating mask-like faces, all attributed to the curse affecting the forest. To survive and find a way to break the curse, players will need to utilize a gun and magical amulets.
Adding to the surreal atmosphere is a peculiar rabbit character who frequents the player's cottage, inquiring about a lighter. The developers promise multiple endings, suggesting various paths to lifting the curse, all set against a backdrop of "a thick, lingering atmosphere of fear" and spooky skeletons.
Podoba Interactive has noted the use of AI in localizing game descriptions, with a commitment to replacing these with human translations. The studio previously incorporated AI-generated textures in their game "Back to Hearth," which were then manually processed to fit the game's aesthetic. "I Hear the Forest" aims to blend these established horror elements with its unique premise for a 2027 launch.