SOTANO descends on Windows, Mac and mobile devices

Written by Jack Allin — December 7, 2021 at 10:37

One of the first rules of adventure games is: NEVER knock on a stranger's door, especially in the middle of nowhere. Or rather, definitely do knock (or it wouldn't be much of a game), but brace yourself for the worst of what might follow. The latest release to reinforce this particular message is SOTANO, the new game from M9 Games.

On your way home from the airport, you notice you're running out of gas so you "decide to take a little known short cut through a quiet village." It's too little too late, however, as before long your car breaks down and rolls "slowly to a halt in front of one of the largest houses on the street." Hoping for some neighbourly cooperation, you approach the door and knock ... only to be unceremoniously knocked out for your trouble. You awaken later in the basement to find a note left by your captor, warning you that you've been locked in "for your own safety" as this house has "many unconventional contraptions that might otherwise 'confuse' you." Escape will not be easy. 

As with the prolific indie developer's other recent games, including the likes of MISTICO and DORADO, SOTANO is a first-person puzzle adventure. Unlike its predecessors, however, this game is presented in full free-roaming 3D and sees you trapped indoors, challenging you to thoroughly explore the environment, collecting needed inventory objects and utilizing them to overcome obstacles in order to progress. Despite the high stakes, there is no time pressure but you will "need all of your puzzle-solving skills to put together a plan to make your way through ... the many rooms to escape the house of Sotano."

As of now, SOTANO is available exclusively on Steam for Windows PC, though the trailer indicates that we'll see a DRM-free release on itch.io along with mobile versions soon enough.
 

Update: The game has now been released on itch.io, Amazon, GooglePlay and the App Store, the latter including a Mac M1 native version as well as iOS.