Occultus Vitae – Hidden Life

A psychological horror adventure about abandoned places and dark legends.

Step into the shoes of an urban explorer with a taste for the mysterious and macabre. When you hear a chilling rumour of an experiment gone horribly wrong beneath a forgotten castle, your curiosity gets the better of you.

Explore the underground laboratory rumoured to have been the site of a failed experiment in black magic – a place where something monstrous was unleashed, leaving only death and madness in its wake. As the lines between legend and reality blur, you will find yourself racing against the dark forces unleashed decades ago. Will you uncover the truth, or will the darkness consume you?

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Genre: Psychological horror, first person
Status: Early Access since 18 March 2025
Platform: Windows (Steam)
Languages: English (full audio), German, French, Spanish, Polish
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Developer: Place2Start Studio, Iserlohn, Germany

Based on the novel „Occultus Vitae – Geheimes Leben“ by Tizian Brink.

Key features

You're not just exploring. You're surviving.

Immersive exploration
Roam hauntingly detailed environments, from decrepit castle halls to the depths of a forsaken underground lab. Every shadow hides a story, every creak of the floorboards hints at something sinister.
An enemy that learns
The adaptive enemy AI remembers how you play. Hide a lot and it starts checking hiding spots. Love your flashlight and it spots you from further away.
Psychological horror
As you delve deeper, reality begins to blur. Face horrors that test your sanity and make you question what is real and what is not.
Challenging survival
Solve intricate puzzles, evade relentless threats and manage batteries, keys and medicine wisely. Save at old typewriters – each one works only once.
Atmospheric sound design
An original soundtrack and true 3D audio with occlusion through walls and room reverb. You hear where something is – and where it is about to be.