a cozy . story-rich . open-world . walking simulator . metroidbrania . exploration . game about saving the world

    // About sondeR

    Time flows back and forth in this narrative, open-world cavern, harbouring a young research civilisation in the face of disaster.

    Embrace environmental clues that add up to an interwoven story of fear, resolve and a constant sense of discovery, defying the laws of time and space.

    Drawing of a waterfall with an arrow pointing up left of the waterfall. A text states "Climb Waterfalls. Use your knowledge to reach undiscovered places"
    Drawing of a brain without wrinkles. A text states "Smooth Brain. Break laws of nature …no combat, jumpscares, timers"
    Drawing of a frowning mask. A text states "Tell bad puns. Discuss your research with others & unveil layers of details at first (crossed out) second glance"
    Drawing of a turning hourglass. A text states "Adapt to rising water. Time changes everything… don't worry, time will flow back again".

    // nO ai

    We do NOT use any type of AI-generated art, meaning that
    all assets and code are self-made! :)
    (incl. 3D models, 2D art, story, text, audio, marketing material etc.)

    Drawing of sign with the text "No AI" crossed out.
    Capsule art of SONDER. Big glowing mushroom-tree in center of a partially flodded cave full of glowing, different coloured mushrooms.

    // Demo Soon
    ...WIshlisT Now

    Demo aimed for Spooky Season!
    Support us with a Wishlist & a follow on our Steam page! :3

    We're also trying to keep Discord more updated! :>
    You can grab our OST (Original Soundtrack) there! (after launch) (we listen to a LOT of video game music <3)

    // Developer Team

    The developers behind SONDER are a core team of 5-6 friends from Austria who continue developing this game in their spare time.

    Originally, we started this game as our joint master and bachelor project (multiple master and bachelor game dev studies involved), exploring the depths of knowledge-based progression systems in video games, being a case study for cozy post-apocalyptic environments, and delving into sound design in time manipulated settings and inducing (existential) fear.

    GIF showcasing the developer team behind SONDER, everyone doing funny poses :)

    top (left to right): Anja Lopatnova, Antonia Klar, Özenc Dinler, Mathias Achleitner, Conny Pleichl, Simon Saurer
    bottom (left to right): Rui Kremsmayr, Selina Mensah, Kevin La, Male Kremsmayr, Viktoria Wereszczynska

    In Austria, we've been physically attending big and small game festivals like the LEVEL UP Salzburg, or Austria's biggest two festivals the Esports Festival and Game City Vienna and have made connections with other local and international indie developers and content creators.

    We've been finalists and been nominated for local student-game-dev-competitions including the SUBOTRON Live Pitch Event 2025 and the PGDA Talent Award 2025,, in which we the opportunity present and pitch our Pitch Deck and PR Factsheet to industry experts and get valuable feedback from them.

    We are now moving to polishing and publishing our game in the near future. We are starting to market our game more actively and are planning on releasing our Steam Demo around Halloween season for the upcoming Steam Next Fest 2026 (October 19 - October 26).
    Feel free to reach out and just chat with us! =) We’d love to hear about you, your questions and your ideas! <3

    // rEach ouT! :)

    Heyy! We're working on a demo for Steam Next Fest October 2026Feel free to reach out to us! c:
    DM, Mail, Discord - whatever :3
    We’d love to hear about you, your crazy ideas, dog, cat, games...! <3

    // Next Fest Oct

      // Days in developmenT