BrokenLore: Unfollow Launches January 16, Ascend Revealed for Summer 2026

Japanese horror developer Serafini Productions has announced the release date for BrokenLore: Unfollow alongside the reveal of a brand new entry in the psychological horror series. The first-person horror game launches exclusively on PS5 on January 16, 2026, while the newly announced BrokenLore: Ascend is set to arrive in Summer 2026.

The Tokyo-based studio has been steadily building its BrokenLore series as a psychological horror anthology, with each game exploring different aspects of human fear through surreal, reality-bending experiences. The latest announcements show the series continuing to evolve with fresh concepts while maintaining its focus on psychological tension over jump scares.

BrokenLore: Unfollow represents the studio's most ambitious entry yet, tackling themes of social media's impact on mental health through the story of Anne, a bullying victim trapped in a nightmarish realm. Meanwhile, Ascend takes the series in a dramatically different direction with its high-altitude Tokyo setting and cooperative climbing mechanics.

Social Media Meets Psychological Horror

BrokenLore: Unfollow puts players in the shoes of Anne, a young woman traumatized by cyberbullying who finds herself trapped in a surreal nightmare. The game uses Anne's smartphone as more than just a narrative device—it's a core gameplay mechanic that reveals hidden clues and helps players survive encounters with manifestations of her fears.

The environments in Unfollow shift and distort as you explore, functioning as both puzzles to solve and metaphors for Anne's psychological state. These spaces aren't just scary—they're designed to reflect the disorienting experience of dealing with online harassment and social media pressure. The game explores what Serafini Productions CEO Sebastiano Serafini describes as "the dark side of social media," blending horror gameplay with contemporary social commentary.

Rather than relying on traditional horror tropes, Unfollow creates tension through its constantly shifting reality. Walls may suddenly appear or disappear, familiar spaces transform into uncanny versions of themselves, and the line between Anne's memories and her current nightmare becomes increasingly blurred. It's an approach that makes players question what's real, mirroring the psychological manipulation that online bullying victims often experience.

Climbing Into Fear

BrokenLore: Ascend represents a bold new direction for the series. Set in a reimagined Tokyo dominated by a massive tower, the game follows Ren and Yui as they undertake a perilous vertical journey. Unlike Unfollow's enclosed, shifting spaces, Ascend explores fear through exposure—the terror of altitude, wind, and precarious footing.

The gameplay focuses on precision traversal and climbing mechanics, requiring players to carefully plan their routes up the unstable structure. Coordinated two-player interactions suggest the game may feature cooperative gameplay elements, with Ren and Yui's partnership central to both the story and mechanics.

Hunting them throughout their ascent is a Rokurokubi-inspired entity—a creature from Japanese folklore known for its ability to stretch its neck to impossible lengths. This antagonist stalks through the tower's structure, adding constant danger to an already treacherous climb. The combination of environmental hazards and an active threat creates a unique horror experience where every movement carries weight.

What makes Ascend particularly interesting is its focus on the relationship between its two protagonists. Their partnership isn't just narrative window dressing—it's woven into the gameplay and survival mechanics. The human stakes of their bond add emotional depth to the physical challenges they face.

An Anthology of Human Fears

The BrokenLore series has established itself as a psychological horror anthology where each entry explores different protagonists confronting distinctly human fears. Themes of identity, shame, visibility, and social pressure run throughout the series, with reality shifting to match each character's psychological state.

This anthology approach gives Serafini Productions creative freedom to experiment with different horror concepts while maintaining thematic consistency. Previous entries like BrokenLore: LOW explored claustrophobic environments in a mist-shrouded Japanese village, while BrokenLore: DONT WATCH took yet another approach to first-person horror.

What ties these games together is their focus on psychological tension rather than gore or jump scares. The "uncanny retro layers" that reality fractures into create a disorienting atmosphere where everyday spaces become threatening. It's horror that gets under your skin through atmosphere and implication rather than shocking violence.

Tokyo's Growing Horror Scene

Serafini Productions operates out of Tokyo's Shibuya district, contributing to Japan's vibrant independent game development scene. While the country is famous for its AAA horror franchises, studios like Serafini Productions are proving that smaller teams can create compelling horror experiences with fresh perspectives.

The studio's portfolio extends beyond BrokenLore, with titles like Blood Crossroad exploring alcoholism through psychological horror and Japanese folklore, and even branching into other genres with the 2D platformer Fantasy Boy. However, the BrokenLore series remains their flagship, with each new entry refining their approach to psychological horror.

Their games are currently available across multiple platforms including PlayStation, Steam, and Epic Games, though the newest entries—Unfollow and Ascend—will launch as PS5 exclusives. This partnership with PlayStation suggests growing confidence in the series' appeal to console audiences.

Looking Ahead

With BrokenLore: Unfollow launching on January 16, 2026, horror fans won't have long to wait before experiencing Anne's nightmare. The Summer 2026 window for Ascend means both games will arrive within months of each other, giving players two distinct takes on psychological horror in quick succession.

The contrast between the two games—one exploring the claustrophobia of social media harassment, the other the vertigo of high-altitude climbing—demonstrates Serafini Productions' range within the horror genre. Both tackle very real human fears through supernatural lenses, making them more relatable than traditional monster-focused horror.

For players interested in the broader BrokenLore universe, earlier entries in the series are available now on Steam and PlayStation Store. Each game stands alone, so you don't need to play them in any particular order to understand Unfollow or Ascend when they launch.

For more information about the BrokenLore series and Serafini Productions' other titles, visit the official BrokenLore website.

Game Information