- Isolated apartment, distorted memories… A psychological horror tracking the truth in the abyss.
- All eyes on new first-person Japanese horror title ahead of Steam Next Fest: Demo revealed
Serafini Productions, a Tokyo-based horror game studio, and Wired Productions, a UK publisher, released a new demo of the first-person psychological horror game ‘BrokenLore: DON’T LIE’ on Steam on May 7.
Released ahead of Steam Next Fest in June, this demo is the first opportunity for players to experience the game firsthand since it was first unveiled at the PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct in September 2025. The game is scheduled for release on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, but the official release date is yet to be determined.
A broken family, a crumbling reality… Junko’s collapsing reality
Broken ‘n’ Roar: Don’t Lie centers on the story of Junko, a young woman whose mental state gradually deteriorates after growing up in a broken family environment. Abandoned by her mother and emotionally disconnected from her father, Junko isolates herself as she repeatedly experiences rejection and humiliation whenever she attempts to connect with others. As her condition worsens, the boundary between reality and hallucination begins to blur.
The player experiences the story from the perspective of Junko, who lives in seclusion in a small apartment. Amidst routine phone calls, drug dependence, and a space that gradually becomes distorted, she must confront hallucinations and anxiety. At the same time, as her memories and the truth slowly unfold through her relationships with people she met at the rehabilitation center in the past, she must judge what is true and what is false.
An ordinary apartment becomes a space of nightmares, surreal visuals crafted by memories and emotions
Broken ‘n’ Lore: Don’t Lie utilizes motion capture to vividly bring Junko’s emotional journey to life, delivering a unique cinematic style that blends reality and the surreal. The development team’s core approach appears to be the maximization of tension and emotional impact by composing every scene from the protagonist’s vulnerable point of view.
In particular, it is characterized by the direction in which a familiar apartment space gradually transforms into a bizarre state. Everyday objects turn into strange and threatening entities, and as reality and hallucination intermingle, the space itself transforms into an unstable ‘Limbo.’ The gradually changing sense of space evokes an atmosphere reminiscent of the internal spatialization realized in ‘Silent Hill.’
Sound design is also used as a key tool for psychological horror. The alien sounds intruding between everyday noises and static, the distorted voice heard on the phone, and the tension created by the silence draw the player into Junko’s psychological state.
Delving into the dark underbelly of Japanese society, the evolution of the ‘Broken Lore’ series
The Broken Lore series has already grown into a horror anthology universe consisting of several titles, including DON’T WATCH (April 2025), LOW (February 2025), and UNFOLLOW (January 2026). While each work features an independent story, they are connected by common psychological themes and Japanese horror sensibilities.
‘DON’T LIE’ is a spin-off of ‘DON’T WATCH’ that starts from the periphery of the original story and serves to expand a deeper and darker narrative. The community continues to evaluate that the series is gradually gaining psychological depth, and this demo is also being highlighted as a title to watch at Next Fest.
Collaboration between a horror game studio and an indie publisher
Publisher Wired Productions is an independent UK publisher that has released various indie titles, including ‘Martha Is Dead’ and ‘KARMA: The Dark World’. Developer Serafini Productions is a Tokyo-based Japanese studio specializing in horror games, focusing on the development of the Broken Lore series.
Led by Sebastiano Serafini, this studio is known for integrating motion capture, cinematic storytelling, visual artistry, and dynamic gameplay, infusing its experience in the entertainment industry into game production. The studio plans to continuously expand the multi-chapter Broken Lore series.
‘ Information regarding ‘ BrokenLore : DON’T LIE’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Serafini Productions (Tokyo, Japan, established in 2022) |
| Publisher | Wired Productions (Watford, UK) |
| Genre | First-person psychological horror / Survival horror / Adventure |
| Release platform | PC (Steam·Epic) / PlayStation 5 / Xbox Series |
| Official release date | Undecided |
| Demo release date | May 7, 2026 (Free on Steam) |
| Location within the series | DON’T WATCH Spin-off / New Broken Lore Series |
| First reveal | PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct 2025 (September 2025) |
| Main Keywords | Psychological horror, First person, Japan, Hikikomori, Hallucination, Limbo space, Mental health, Isolation |
| Related series | DON’T WATCH / LOW / UNFOLLOW / ASCEND / FOLLOW (Broken Lore Universe) |
| Official Channel | Wired Productions Official Site |
| Steam Page | Shortcut (Demo Play) |
