Hands-on with innovative horror/puzzle title Out of Sight

While I was at Game Developer’s Conference 2025 in San Francisco this year, I had the absolute pleasure to demo an upcoming puzzle horror title. This one’s something to check out yourself if you’re at all a fan of puzzle games and/or horror games, especially those with unique gimmicks. I was so drawn in by the atmosphere and mechanics I almost forgot I was sitting in a coffee shop around other people while playing!

Published by Starbeeze Entertainment (yes, the PAYDAY publishers) and developed by Swedish studio The Gang, Out of Sight is an incredibly unique horror/puzzle game with an extreme charm. I was lucky enough to play the opening bit of the game with the lead developer and had an absolute blast. You play as Sophie, a blind girl who has mysteriously gained the ability to see through the eyes of her stuffed teddy bear. You find yourself in a mysterious mansion and faced with only one goal: escape.

When I sat down to play, I immediately realized that my camera’s perspective was from the teddy bear and had the thought of how cool that was. You still control the young girl Sophie, but from a fixed angle like classic survival horror games back in the old school PlayStation 1 days. You’ll first grab your teddy and see from its eye level, but you can hit a button to raise it up and peek over hard-to-reach places, giving you an extra advantage. Of course, if you need to solve a puzzle or climb to a higher location, you must set down the bear, leaving your camera fixed and your angles…unwatched. You’ll want to be quiet while you open drawers and push over sheet metal and other various objects while you open your path, because you’re not alone. You are escaping a dark and mysterious manor, after all, so someone, or something is there to stop you, and it listens.

Being blind obviously means you’ll rely on the sight of something else, but your other senses are more valuable. Your hearing helps you detect whether or not you’re in danger, but that’s not a get out of jail free card. The line between reality and illusion is razor thin, so you might not be able to trust all your senses after all. Trust in your teddy bear and your puzzle solving skills and uncover the mystery about what became the mansion and why it’s such a dark and foreboding nightmare house.

I had such a great time playing it, and there’s a release date planned already for you to get excited for. Of course, there’s also a demo, so you can test out the beginning for yourself and see how truly innovative Out of Sight is. Out of Sight has a release date planned for May 22nd, 2025 on Steam, so be sure to keep it on your radar/add it to your wishlists.

Additionally, I can confirm that a console port is in the works post-launch, so console players will be able to enjoy this excellency at a later unknown date. Out of Sight is something to keep In your sight, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the full release.