Sam Barlow has a storied history. While Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories are, perhaps, his two obvious claims to horror fame, 2015’s Her Story – his investigation-focused interactive film – has etched itself into gaming history as one of the greatest FMV-style games ever made. Perfect in its presentation and storytelling, we gave it a solid 9/10 back in the day – was that really 11 years ago? Was Telling Lies really released in 2019? Damn. That hurts.
Barlow is back, however, following on from Immortality in 2022, which was also well-received. He’s been working away on Project C with the team at Half Mermaid, and, until now, we haven’t really known much about it. But, as part of Kinetic Publishing Showcase – organized by Phasmophobia developer-turned-publisher Kinetic Games – we know that Project C is now Precognition, and it’s a sci-fi horror game in the vein of Barlow’s other FMVs.
Launching in 2028, Precognition revolves around Diana who, following the implementation of an experimental implant, can suddenly see the future. You’re tasked with using her foresight to either make the world a better place, or, to quote the Steam description, change it “for the worse.” You’ll be jumping across various decades and timelines, piecing together narratives and bending them to your will. It’s described as “one of the most sprawling and ambitious time travel stories yet created.” A part of me believes that.
Barlow isn’t alone here, however. He’s recruited Possessor’s director Brandon Cronenberg, too. With a 94% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and 2023’s Infinity Pool also sitting at 87%, he’s had a pretty good run with horror, and I expect that to shine through in Precognition.
“We’ve really been trying to test the limits of non-linear storytelling, focusing on how the game feels to play, while encouraging player agency and freedom,” Barlow says. “We’ve pushed ourselves even harder with Precognition by bringing the feel of investigation and mystery games into a world of cause-and-effect, with a story that spins out as a consequence of your choices.”
Precognition is set to release in Spring 2028. You can wishlist it on Steam, and look through the bizarre yet oddly beautiful screenshots. They don’t tell you much, but they’re very pretty.
While I’ve never been an FMV person, I’m always excited to see what Barlow is up to. I loved 2K’s Ghost Rider game (clearly his best work), and I find his FMVs equal parts perplexing and fascinating. I like Precognition’s ideas, and while it’s still a ways off, I’m excited to see what comes of it.
