Laica: Survival Horror Where You Live With a Mysterious Girl

What if the only comfort left in a decaying universe was a mysterious girl living alone on a space station?

That's the setup for Laica, a new survival horror adventure from Japanese publisher ambr. The Steam store page and a promo video just went live, and the game is being developed by Santa Studio, a team under Santa Sunrise. It's currently slated to launch in 2027.

Here's how it works: you wake up aboard "Home," a residential facility floating in space. There you meet Laica, a mysterious girl who's been living there by herself. The two of you eat meals together, listen to music, and take walks around the facility. As you interact more, you grow closer, and piece by piece you start to uncover why she's stayed in this place so long, and what the facility is really about.

But that quiet life has a dark backdrop. The universe itself is being consumed by some kind of anomaly. Space facilities once built for human activity have been twisted by an unknown presence into dangerous zones filled with dark red spaces, hand-like grotesque creatures, and faceless aberrations. Your job is to move between your everyday living space and the abandoned facilities, fighting off these threats while collecting key items and hunting for the truth behind the cosmic disturbance.

As you push deeper, things start going wrong with both "Home" and Laica herself. The peaceful cohabitation gradually falls apart, and the story eventually arrives at a fate-deciding branching choice. The team is using 3D visuals for the horror scenes, plus voice acting to convey the characters' shifting emotions and add narrative tension. The pitch is simple: live alongside Laica, explore a dark world crawling with alien monsters, and see where your story with her goes.

We still don't know a ton beyond the store page and trailer, but the mix of slice-of-life bonding and cosmic horror is a pretty intriguing combo. A 2027 release means we've got a while to wait, though.

What do you think? Does the idea of cozy space-station life turning into a nightmare hook you, or are you waiting for more gameplay before getting excited? Will you be picking this up when it lands?