ONTOS is the kind of game you don't stop thinking about, even after you've turned it off. Partly because it asks the horrifying question: “What if a man's consciousness was stored in a server rack made of rats?”

I've played its first demo—shown to press and creators at gamescom 2026—multiple times. The game centers on Aditi, drawn to Samsara, a seemingly abandoned moon resort-turned-science lab, by her estranged father. The demo revolves around a single puzzle: retrieve a key from the base's scientist, Crombie—who has copied his mind into a rat-based server contraption and become incapacitated. The key hangs around his neck, trapped beneath probes and wires inserted directly into his brain.

I've replayed this scenario multiple times because it's not about finding the “correct” solution—it's about finding which solution you want to try. Like Frictional Games' SOMA, ONTOS turns philosophical inquiry into weird science. Characters grapple with big questions—”What is the self? Are body and mind necessarily connected? What happens when I plug myself into The Rat-puter?”—and pursue increasingly grotesque answers.

But unlike SOMA, this isn't a traditional horror game. There are no stalking threats or stealth mechanics. Instead, it's built around puzzles and exploration, skewing closer to immersive sims in how it lets you determine not just what you're doing, but how you want to do it.

With Crombie, I've found multiple solutions: turning off the server to restore his corporeal form; overwriting his original mind with the copy; or cutting the server without either step, killing both versions and simply taking the key. That last approach left me wondering—can I effectively play ONTOS as a villain?

The game allows any of these paths with minimal direction and reacts seamlessly. I'm left agonizing over whether I've made the “right” choice, and curious how other characters will respond.

Beyond the puzzle setpieces, exploration reveals the wider story. Scattered terminals and audio logs explain the experiment while traveling to the rat server. I've found locked cabinets with additional clues and even a test rat-server that taught me how the machinery worked, providing insight into the full puzzle.

Resource management adds another layer—a blowtorch requires oxygen canisters, which are limited. In one run, I reached the main puzzle knowing my desired solution but lacking the supplies to execute it, forcing improvisation and encouraging exploration.

Samsara itself is tactile: doors require manual unlatching, drawers pull open physically, and nearly every item can be picked up and inspected. This design makes anything feel like a potential clue, compelling you to understand the space itself. Despite replaying the same sequence multiple times, I'm certain there's more to discover—clues I haven't found and solutions I haven't intuited. Even within known solutions, nuances unlock different voice lines and reactions.

ONTOS lingers not because of its horrors or wonders, but because I can't stop imagining how I could have engaged differently. The number of potential solutions to single puzzles suggests a massively intriguing full experience.

ONTOS arrives in 2027 for Xbox Series X|S and PC. Play it on both platforms at no additional cost with Xbox Play Anywhere.