Fancy a trip to a cabin in the woods?

Project Songbird is a first-person cinematic narrative psychological horror game from Conner Rush and his studio FYRE Games, the developer behind the critically praised games Summerland and We Never Left (from Dread X Collection 5). Take control of Dakota, a career musician who, amidst writer’s block, decides to isolate themself in a cabin in the remote Appalachian forest in order to record their next album. Take in this gripping tale, explore the natural environment and haunting dreamscapes, and fight to survive in this short horror experience.

Project Songbird is an emotional, psychological horror. Dakota goes to a cabin in the woods for inspiration for her music, using instruments and recording equipment to record a new style as well as recording sounds of the forest for inspiration and taking photos. It’s not long before things take a weird turn as it seems something is lurking in the forest, watching you.

It’s not soon before you find yourself walking through a red door in the middle of the woods which seems to be a cause of trauma for Dakota, then the game becomes a survival-horror type of experience with stealth, combat and puzzles abound. The game takes about 4-5 hours to complete, though there is a permadeath option if you wish to make things harder for yourself…there isn’t a trophy for this though, so it’s really only worth doing if you want that extra challenge.

It can feel clunky to switch between items in your inventory and the combat itself is hit and miss. The real star of the game is the story and the emotional themes that are explored like depression and creative block. There’s not many games that try and tackle those areas, so it’s a brave choice and one that is handled well.

The visuals are decent with some vibrant colours used for the forest, while the other areas are dark and atmospheric. The game is nicely detailed, and it runs at a smooth framerate throughout. The voice-acting is impressive with voice-actors Valerie Rose Lohman (What Remains of Edith Finch, Wolfenstein: Youngblood), Jonah Scott (Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Beastars), and Aleks Le (Persona 3: Reloaded, Demon Slayer) alongside a beautifully dynamic soundtrack composed and performed by Jacob Noska, Jonah Henthorne, and Erwin Dorsainville: members of the band Auric Echoes.

The Verdict

Project Songbird is a decent horror game, telling an emotional story that will resonate with a good few of us. It might be clunky with its controls at times and it’s over after just a few hours, but it’s a game that you’ll be remembering for a good while.

Score: 7.5