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PRECOGNITION Sees Sam Barlow Return to Nonlinear Storytelling
Quality does not always guarantee mainstream popularity, particularly when a game deliberately explores unconventional ideas. That may explain why some players have yet to experience Sam Barlow‘s work, despite the acclaim surrounding games such as Her Story and IMMORTALITY.
Both titles built their identities around live-action footage and nonlinear storytelling, asking players to uncover the narrative themselves rather than simply following events from beginning to end. Barlow is now returning to that approach with PRECOGNITION, his previously teased Project C, which is being developed by Half Mermaid and published by Kinetic Publishing.
PRECOGNITION Lets Players Explore Decades of Possible Futures
PRECOGNITION follows Diana, a former child prodigy who receives an experimental brain implant that allows her to see moments from her own future. Rather than treating those visions as fixed events, players will be able to explore different possibilities and decide which memories of the future Diana retains.
Those choices can then alter what happens next, potentially changing events for better or worse. The concept expands on Barlow’s familiar style of letting players piece together events in their own order. This time, however, the story will span decades and multiple timelines, turning the act of discovering information into something that can directly affect the future under investigation.
That creates an unusual relationship between cause and effect, where seeing what lies ahead may be just as important as deciding what Diana does in the present.
Brandon Cronenberg Brings His Sci-Fi Horror Experience
Barlow is also collaborating with filmmaker Brandon Cronenberg, whose previous work includes Possessor and Infinity Pool. That partnership appears particularly well-suited to PRECOGNITION, which combines time travel, experimental technology, and psychological horror in its live-action presentation.
The official description promises one of Barlow’s most ambitious time-spanning stories yet, while drawing on Cronenberg’s sci-fi horror sensibilities. It also marks another evolution of the format Barlow has steadily developed across Her Story, Telling Lies and IMMORTALITY, in which searching, interpreting and connecting filmed performances become the primary form of interaction.
PRECOGNITION Is Planned for 2028
The game can already be wishlisted, although further details on its cast, structure and exact gameplay systems remain under wraps. For players who enjoy mysteries that reward interpretation rather than straightforward answers, PRECOGNITION looks set to be another unusual experiment from a creator who has made a career out of questioning how games can tell stories.
PRECOGNITION is currently scheduled to launch for PC via Steam in 2028, with no specific release date announced yet.
