Hyde and LiTMUS announced Forbidden Ground – Lair of Aooni –, a brand-new game in the long-running Ao Oni horror game series, for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. Forbidden Ground – Lair of Aooni – will launch in summer 2025, and a booth for the game was featured at BitSummit the 13th in Kyoto, Japan.
Lastly, here’s an overview of the game, via the official Steam page:
Game Outline
In this exploration-type horror game, you control the main characters (Himari and Komari) who are trapped in an underground facility, and aim to escape from the facility by finding their five friends and solving the riddles and tricks set up in various locations.
The Blue Demon, which is also the title of the game, suddenly appears at various locations and relentlessly pursues the protagonists.
The game is over as soon as the player touches the Blue Demon, so the player must solve the puzzles while either dodging the approaching Blue Demon or hiding to avoid it.
Story
Five children set out to search for their missing parents.
Worried about their classmates who have not returned to the abandoned school where they were buried, a young girl, Himari, also sets foot inside.
Himari meets Komari, a Japanese doll inhabited by a grudge spirit, and the two work together to escape from the abandoned school where blue demons roam. In the process, they learn of a tragic incident that occurred in the past.
Why did the blue demons come to roam, the mystery of the abandoned school… What is the true identity of “Komari”?
And what is the truth behind Himari and her friends’ visit to the abandoned school?
Himari and Komari’s escape plan begins.
