Developer Hello Andromeda is preparing to launch Sarco, a horror game that eschews jump scares in favor of a persistent, visible threat. The game's central mechanic revolves around preventing an imprisoned cosmic being within a sarcophagus from escaping by keeping it in sight. However, players face a constant challenge as their oxygen supply depletes, forcing them to leave the sarcophagus unattended to scavenge for resources and potential escape routes within a derelict scientific base.
The entity within the sarcophagus is not static; it will adapt to the player's actions over time, requiring them to change their strategies and explore new paths. The developers emphasize that understanding the entity's behavior is key to survival. Sarco is designed to be a single-sitting experience, as it does not feature a save system.
Inspirations for Sarco include games like Paratopic, Alien: Isolation, and Blackshard. This project emerged from the developers' work on another title, Fog'n'Silence. Sarco is slated for release later this year.