Atheris

Atheris is a compact sci-fi horror game designed to be completed in a single session. Dr. Elhias Roth wakes from cryosleep aboard the battered industrial hauler Atheris after its overheating AI pulls him out too quickly. Most of his memory is gone: he does not recognize the ship or the woman lying in a pool of blood nearby. The crew had five members, and he is the only one still breathing.

Aboard the Atheris

The ship is falling apart, and the creatures that gutted it and its AI, OPHIS, are the only things aboard that still work. OPHIS is overheating and changes from one moment to the next. She may speak like a mother, give orders, turn against you and then help you again. Her voice stretches and folds as her behavior shifts.

OPHIS opens doors and keeps you company, but she also makes demands: she may require you to dance before releasing a lock or insist that you incinerate a dead colleague because she does not want a corpse in the kitchen. She was awake for everything that happened aboard the Atheris, remembers it all and has opinions about your part in it.

Reconstruct the past

There are no quest markers. You piece together what happened from terminals, mission magazines and notes in your own handwriting, written by a man you do not remember being. The further you get, the less you want the next fragment. To face the creatures, you have only a crowbar and a pistol that is nearly out of ammunition.

A single-session story

The game is built to be finished in one sitting, with no busywork, padding or grinding. Its single-session experience lasts about an hour, maintaining pressure through to an ending Elhias has erased from his memory. A retro-industrial atmosphere, cinematic inspiration, a minimal interface and environmental storytelling shape the experience, alongside abominable, highly dangerous creatures that relentlessly threaten Elhias.