Ire: A Prologue is an upcoming first-person psychological horror game from ProbablyMonsters Inc. Ahead of its release on October 28, 2025, we received a hands-off preview showcasing roughly 20 minutes of gameplay.
The story follows a girl named Emily who finds herself isolated on a boat in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. The player helps Emily piece together her memories to unlock the mystery that led to her current predicament.
The first noticeable aspect of the gameplay is how well Ire: A Prologue is able to create a suspenseful and horror environment. Visually, the darkness and dilapidated state of the ship matches perfectly with the genre. More impressive is the subtlety of the soundtrack that strategically comes in at certain times while going out altogether at other key moments. It helps reinforce the aloneness that Emily feels as she navigates the eerily abandoned boat.
One mechanic of the game that stood out is the loop system involving 13 doors throughout the boat. CJ Cowan, Creative Director, IP and Franchise at ProbablyMonsters, went into more detail behind the concept.
“We wanted to take a space and tell a bunch of stories inside of that space,” he said. “Over the course of the thirteen doors, you get access to more of the boat…We changed things on each door so that we’re telling a different part of the story. It’s literally a different memory from Emily of what happened and what happened to the characters.”
Cowan continued, “Finding a way to dive into her memories of what happened, the doors became this really nice backbone. We talk a lot about the movie Inception with kind of a dream within a dream type thing. Each door literally represents getting deeper and deeper into her subconscious of the things she doesn’t want to remember. I think that’s something that’s really unique and fun about the narrative and the character that I haven’t really seen a lot of before.”
Despite the suspense, there are also some heartwarming moments. As more of Emily’s memories are unlocked, she reminisces about better times with her missing father. This demonstrates the versatility and strength of the narrative, allowing these softer scenes that make you more invested in the main character. They also serve as a nice respite from the tension. Cowan and his team describe this part of the game as “cozy horror.”
The hands-off preview of Ire: A Prologue has us optimistic. The visuals and soundtrack help create a suspenseful horror atmosphere, while the loop mechanics and strong narrative provide an interesting gaming experience.
Ire: A Prologue releases October 28, 2025, on Steam and Epic Games Store.
