Project Search

Project Search is an atmospheric visual novel inspired by Chinese science fiction and Daoist cultivation of immortality. You play as Qian Jiangmin, a young scholar recovering from illness who searches for his brother. Equipped with a head-mounted display and a drone, he explores hidden realms and investigates mysteries surrounding his double vision, on a journey toward self-discovery and transcendence.

The world of Project Search

The game moves through spectral landscapes in Linhai, Chongqing and Dunhuang, including parallel dimensions, ancient grotto-heavens and urban spaces. Most of the game takes place in the old town of Linhai, where Chinese Daoist philosophy meets modern technology in an uncanny urban techno-fantasy. Scholars and Daoist cultivators guide Qian Jiangmin through mysterious underground realms beneath the town.

In Dunhuang, you explore everyday streets shaped by the city’s religious and cultural history, while uncovering spiritual and historical layers. The Chongqing setting portrays a rainy, misty, post-industrial district near the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. Across the levels, art, myth and contemplation invite reflection on spirituality, cultural heritage and modernity.

Explore at your own pace

Project Search has no compulsory objectives or fixed goals. You can switch between 14 levels at any time, wander through the environments, find hidden artefacts and piece together the city’s incompleteness, imperfection and picturesqueness. Dodecahedron objects and other hidden features reveal more of the lore when you approach and interact with them.

Connections to HyperBody

Project Search shares a universe with the HyperBody VR game, including NPCs and specific environments. The Garden Portal level connects the two games.