Stray Souls, a psychological horror adventure and debut title from indie developer Jukai Studio, is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam this fall. Stray Souls features direction from Artur Łączkowski, who previously worked with Bloober Team on 2021’s The Medium.
Stray Souls draws inspiration from the staples of modern horror while offering immersive chills powered by Unreal Engine 5 and MetaHuman technology, according to the official website. As seen in the game’s latest trailer shared by Jukai Studio today, Stray Souls forges a deeply foreboding atmosphere through heavy rain, oppressive shadows, and shrouds of fog echoing the iconic mists of PS2-era horror games.
The Silent Hill homage may be evident, but the game’s official website speaks to a Dark Souls influence: the website describes the gameplay as a convergence of “classic horror combat [and] soulslike precision”. When players aren’t engaging in the game’s third-person melee combat, however, they will be exploring the game’s setting of Aspen Falls. A small town surrounded by a dense forest, Aspen Falls is home to unpredictable weather patterns and rife with hordes of horrifying creatures to both fight and hide from.
To brave the torrents and terror of Aspen Falls, players will step into the rain-soaked shoes of Stray Souls’s protagonist Daniel, who has inherited his grandmother’s home for his eighteenth birthday. Feeling bestowed with good fortune, Daniel wades out to his grandmother’s home in Aspen Falls only to slowly awaken to a grim plot centered around his past, his present, and, most pivotally, his future.
Stray Souls was first revealed in November 2021 through Jukai Studios’ official Twitter account. A preliminary demo of the game was made available through Steam in December of that year, however this demo has since been removed from the game’s Steam page. At the time of this writing, Stray Souls can be wishlisted through Steam; the game is not currently listed on either the PlayStation Store or the Microsoft Store, however. Further information regarding the game’s release and pricing has yet to be revealed.
