Some details about ONTOS have me really hyped and thinking about the future of Frictional Games and their upcoming games.
Frictional Games describes ONTOS as an immersive sim, in which you explore Samsara at will.
The lobby of Samsara works as a central hub and the overall structure of it took inspirations from other games for their interconnectedness, notably Lordran from Dark Souls and Spencer mansion from Resident Evil.
There's a little bit of combat, and hostile entities in various ways. You'll have to do some resource management, and use various tools to solve problems (e.g. distract security camera with a piece of metal, or use a tool to shut down its power)
More details here
Now I can't stop thinking about a game inspired by Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but with the ambition and budget of Ontos.
Just imagine:
▶ Interconnected gothic castle to explore
▶ Suffocating and oppressive atmosphere
▶ Medieval dungeons, abandoned wine cellars, prison, sewers, morgue, ancient tunnels, crypt, decaying halls, corridors shrouded in mist and darkness, torture chambers, laboratory etc..
▶ Perhaps an outdoor area with a cemetery, chapel, garden, hedge maze, dark woods.
▶ Using objects in the environment to solve problems, find creative ways around obstacles, unlock doors, or reach hard-to-access areas.
▶ Secret passages, puzzles, dangerous traps etc..
▶ Distant echoes and unpredictable creatures lurking in the shadows, unique enemy types with different behaviors/AI in specific areas of the castle, different ways of dealing with them.
▶ Resource management, the return of the lantern, oils, sanity, torches, and new mechanics.
▶ Some new things/situations might happen when you return to certain areas (backtracking).
▶ A place that inspires both curiosity and fear with every door you open.
This would be my dream horror game!!! Frictional Games should read this.