Luto, a first-person psychological horror experience developed by Gran Canarian indie studio Broken Bird Games and distributed by Selecta Play, premiered a trailer at Future Games Show Summer Showcase 2023.
The trailer is meant to advertise the release of a demo which is available now on Luto‘s Steam page and is somewhat reminiscent of P.T.: spooky corridors, objects moving by themselves, strange figures appearing and disappearing; it seems familiar. It is, however important to note that the demo is a standalone experience, a short adventure giving you a taste of the full game.
After playing the demo, my first impressions are very positive: the game assets all seem very high quality and the spooky soundscape helps to create a pretty intense atmosphere from the get-go. I highly recommend you try it for yourself.
Here is how the developers at Broken Bird Games describe the game:
Luto is a first-person psychological horror narrative experience where you play the role of an individual unable to leave his own home. Searching for a way to escape will lead you down a series of paths that will test your senses.
At one point in the trailer, a piece of what looks like a movie script-like piece of paper is shown on which the events we just saw in the trailer seem to be written down. In this script, the “individual” as it is referred to in the description above is called Samuel.
Features:
- Explore the pain of losing a loved one, the horror of the insecurity to the darkness that lurks behind the anxiety and depression.
- Enter a mysterious place full of secrets to discover and challenges to face. Deciphering it all will not be an easy task, will you be able to tell fact from fiction?
- Discover an environmental and sensory horror where you will experience the fear of numerous phobias.
The game does appear to be very dark in its themes overall, as even the title, Luto, is Spanish for grief (the game’s developers are based on Gran Canaria)and the game’s Steam page includes warnings about its “depictions of anxiety, depression, and suicide”.
Currently, there does not seem to be a concrete release date for Luto, but the game is said to be “coming soon” to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2023 and is available to add to your Steam wishlist.