Indie developer Dark Zone Studios (London, UK) has revealed that their upcoming side-scrolling puzzle platformer 4:AM will be released on December 10th on PC via Steam.
Check out the 4:AM launch trailer below.
“As the clock strikes 4:AM, Aila wakes in a city that no longer follows rules. A near-future dystopia lies in ruins, consumed by a substance known as the Yellow.”
4:AM is a cinematic puzzle platformer set in a future where society is split in two: those who control the mysterious substance known as the Yellow and those they use as lab rats to create it. You play as Aila, one of those lab rats, trying to escape this dystopian world where light is lethal, and your ingenuity is your greatest asset. With enemies that react to sound, movement, and disruption, you’ll have to think on your feet, picking when to run or hide to survive every step of the way.
With a focus on stealth and puzzle-solving, 4:AM’s gameplay centres around N.O.D.E., a system that lets players duplicate objects from their surroundings, including furniture, light sources, and practical tools. These copies can then be used to create distractions, open up alternative routes, or create cover, and will interact with environmental elements like fire and electricity based on material and context. We see this in action during the trailer, with Aila duplicating a wooden box, setting it alight with an open flame, and using the burning copy to set a wooden barricade on fire.
The game’s various challenges and sequences offer several paths to success, with some being less obvious than others, inviting players to try different methods and putting their observation and creativity to the test. The combination of 4:AM’s level design and mechanics puts the onus on the player to find their own solution to each problem, in a similar vein to Immersive Sims.
There are also narrative choices you’ll need to confront, many of which will determine the fate of others as well as how Aila’s story ends, giving 4:AM some replayability and a chance to try alternative methods from your last playthrough.
While the game will no doubt appeal to fans of other cinematic platformers like Limbo, Inside, the Little Nightmares series, and this year’s REANIMAL, the player choice-driven gameplay and narrative could be the factor 4:AM needs to appeal to a wider audience.
4:AM releases on December 10th on PC. A demo is available now on PC via Steam.
Are you looking forward to 4:AM? Which route would you normally pick: run or hide? Let us know in the comments below, and join the Gamer Social Club Discord to chat about your favourite games, play in community game nights, take part in giveaways, and more!
