I’m all about leveraging creative avenues to tell a good story, and that’s exactly what indie game studio CanuArts appears to be doing with Lithium: Inmate 39. Finding inspiration in various gaming genres of the past, the story will follow a psychiatric patient who traverses their own cerebral nightmares in order to seek understanding. Perhaps most interestingly, CanuArts will reportedly make use of the once dreaded fixed camera angles of early survivor horror titles. This could go a long way in creating a sense of dread, confusion, and helplessness.

That said, this is a 3D platformer and puzzle solver–so don’t go in expecting to battle swarms of the undead. This is, frankly, something much cooler and much more refreshing. There’s no official release date just yet, but we should expect a Q1 roll out on PS4… which should be within the next few weeks if you’re the optimistic type. While we wait on more details and concrete release info, check out the official synopsis and gameplay trailer below. We’ll keep you posted.

Lithium: Inmate 39 is a platform and 3D puzzle game for the horror genre. It tells the story of a psychiatric patient who must find the way back to his origins, discovering his past and getting explanations to understanding what is going on in his mind.

As the story develops, players need to overcome hundreds of perils, traps, and puzzles throughout the 7 different chapters of the game. Traumatic past memories from Inmate 39 will take form on different and unceasing enemies.

Each chapter is inspired by and set on Inmate 39’s vision of his world, the paths that will take him to knowing his truth. Different cut scenes will lead the players to drawing their own conclusions. Understanding will get clearer in later stages.