ONTOS

About this game

From the creators of SOMA comes ONTOS, a sci-fi adventure that takes you to the edge of reality. You are Aditi Amani, invited to the repurposed moon hotel Samsara by the cryptic legacy of your estranged father, a brilliant mind-turned-prophet. What begins as a search for answers quickly spirals into something far stranger. Samsara is no ordinary outpost, but a place where reality fractures, where truths are buried beneath layers of deception and obscurity. As you delve deeper, guided by fragments of your father’s past, you must confront disturbing revelations about the nature of existence - and your place in it.




ONTOS presents a gauntlet of chilling experiments and disturbing encounters that push the boundaries of both science and morality. Each test invites you to peel back another layer of a world that takes you one step closer to the ultimate truth. Confront existential questions that will make you question the nature of the soul, suffering, and the very fabric of reality itself. These trials are not just puzzles—they are provocations. Your choices echo forward, and you must be prepared to face the consequences. Foresight is paramount, but even what you judge to be the best moral actions can lead to devastating outcomes.



At its core, ONTOS is an immersive narrative with a tactile, systems-driven gameplay experience. Ingenuity and research are your greatest weapons. You’ll scavenge materials, manipulate intricate machinery, and engage with analog systems requiring careful calibration and hands-on interaction. Planning is key, choose wisely or suffer the consequences. There’s no ‘one solution’; instead, the goal is what you can make of a situation.



The moon base Samsara is a vast, interconnected labyrinth built atop the ruins of a failed mining colony and an opulent hotel lost to time. Now, it’s a domain carved up by philosophical factions, where science bleeds into faith. Venture through repurposed spaces where the surreal becomes captivating; labs built in lavish casinos and dramatic theatre stages; experiments set up in emptied pools; strange machines built in ancient moon caves, and much more. Every corner of Samsara tells a story, and every story has something hiding beneath the surface, waiting to be found…

Latest news

• Press Coverage·15 Sept 2026

  Ontos is a game about rats, liars, and lying rats. At least, I think that's what it is

  Frictional Games has positioned Ontos as the spiritual successor to Soma, and while it has its DNA, I'm unsure how I felt about it. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Ontos is a game about rats, liars, and lying rats. At least, I think that's what it is
  Read full article on PCGamesN

• Press Coverage·2 Sept 2026

  You can't pet the talking rat wall in Ontos, the new space horror game from Soma's creators, but surely it can run Doom

  When Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Soma developers Frictional announced Ontos, their philosophical horror game set in a mad science hotel on the moon, the internet's jimmies were rustled by the presence of an AI server made out of rats. I have several questions for Frictional regarding that talking rat wall, based on my peerless track record of arts and technology journalism. Read more
  Read full article on Rock, Paper, Shotgun

• Press Coverage·2 Sept 2026

  ONTOS, the next horror from Frictional Games has a new extended look

  ONTOS is the next horror game coming from Amnesia and SOMA developer Frictional Games and we've just got a real good look at it. Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/09/ontos-the-next-horror-from-frictional-games-has-a-new-extended-look/
  Read full article on GamingOnLinux

• Announcements·2 Sept 2026Official

  ONTOS - Extended Gameplay First Look

  Welcome to the ONTOS Experiment Analysis protocol.  It is recommended that you first watch the educational material provided to understand the premise of the Experiment before we move forward.Watch the Extended Gameplay Trailer here.In ONTOS, you’ll find that exploration is key to discovery. Sectors are most conveniently reached via the Circular Gondola Transit. Board the gondola and navigate through the Lunar Hotel Samara. Some of the occupants have set up security equipment like motion sensors and cameras - Bypass the equipment using whatever means are available.  The security equipment is a minor nuance, don't give it too much consideration. The main bulk of the ONTOS User Experience is Experimentation. Secrets of Hotel Samsara, and the people in it, are revealed to those who seek it. Information is readily available to you everywhere you look. Upon entering the office room, you may notice that previous occupants have left things like notes or personal belongings scattered around.  By using your tablet on the computer, you can extract data which allows you to read private messages between people in Hotel Samsara - potentially uncovering details that may shape your decisions later on. The office presents you not only with valuable learning material, but also a practical Experiment to try out for yourself.  In this case, a rat, laid flat on a table with probes inserted into the head and neck. Documents around you will give clues on the different approaches you can take, based on how you decide to interact with the rat. Transfer motor control to the Simulation Server Eject test subject safely And of course, not all information can be found through scattered documents, embrace experimentation and see what happens when you pull at random probes. The rat is but a taste of the larger Experiment at play. Crombie’s Experiment. You find a body hooked up to a machine with brain probes, begging you for help. You follow the voice, pull back the curtain, and discover the rat s...
  Read full article on Community Announcements (QuiteDubious)

• Press Coverage·25 Aug 2026

  The hardware crisis has hit a new low: We're now using rats for RAM

  Good news from the near future: Space travel has apparently advanced enough to allow humanity to establish a hotel on the surface of the moon... Read more.
  Read full article on PC Gamer (Wes Fenlon)