ONTOS will make puzzle solving feel like a moral test. In the first demo, a simple request to retrieve a key turns into a choice between saving a scientist’s body, replacing his mind, or leaving both versions of him dead.
An Xbox Wire preview of the demo, which was shown to press and creators at gamescom 2026, places players in the role of Aditi Amani. She arrives at Samsara, a moon hotel repurposed as a science lab, while following the trail of her estranged father.
One key creates several ugly answers
Crombie’s consciousness has been copied into a server made from rats, leaving his physical body incapacitated. His key hangs from his neck beneath probes and wires connected directly to his brain. The setup is disturbing, but the real hook is that the puzzle does not appear to have one correct solution.
One approach shuts down the server and brings Crombie’s body back from the brink. Another lets the copied consciousness overwrite his original mind. A third option cuts the server without saving either version, killing them both and leaving Aditi free to take the key. The demo provides very little direct instruction, so the decision belongs to the player and the consequences follow from that choice.
SOMA is an obvious point of comparison, especially with its focus on identity and the relationship between the mind and the body. ONTOS takes those ideas into a puzzle adventure rather than a traditional survival horror format. In the demo, there were no stalking threats or stealth sections. Tension came from examining the environment, understanding the machinery, and deciding how far to go with each experiment.
There is plenty to find between the major puzzles. Terminals and audio logs fill in the wider story, locked cabinets hide extra clues, and a smaller test rat-server lets players learn how the probes and machinery work before facing the full experiment. Searching the base is not a side activity, since the information gathered along the way can change how a later problem is understood.
Resources can also force a change of plan. Cutting the server wires requires a blowtorch, but the tool is limited by the oxygen canisters found throughout the base. Reaching the main puzzle with the right idea but too little oxygen means improvising or searching Samsara more carefully before committing to a solution.
Samsara’s physical design supports that approach. Doors must be unlatched and pulled open by hand, drawers can be searched directly, and nearly every object can be picked up and inspected. Rooms become messy as potential clues are moved aside, which makes even ordinary furniture feel worth examining.
Repeated runs of the same sequence can reveal more clues and alternate solutions, including variations that produce different voice lines or character reactions. That layered design gives the demo a strange staying power, since solving the central problem once does not answer every question around it.
ONTOS will arrive in 2027 for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC. The Microsoft Store listing confirms Xbox Play Anywhere, allowing the game to be played on both console and PC at no additional cost.
Would you save Crombie, overwrite his mind, or take the key and leave the experiment behind? Tell us what you think in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, Telegram.
