[PREVIEW] The Vanished Soul – A Horror Game with Bosnian Motifs Powered by Unreal Engine 5

Just as Croatia has its motifs showcased in the game Go Home Annie, now Bosnians also have their baklava, burek, and ćevapi. The Vanished Soul is brought to us by Belmin Kozlić, a developer from Zenica known for the game Roll the Ball. However, this time it’s a significantly more advanced and detailed game that, in addition to scaring you, will make you closely follow the plot’s development.

The Vanished Soul utilizes all the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5 and does so in a very good way. It’s actually fascinating how detailed and graphically advanced this title is. It’s not just superficial; when you open a refrigerator, for example, there is plenty to see. Everything is so detailed that even without zooming in, you can clearly make out every object or read some text. The same goes for all the books throughout the house and various items, with special attention drawn to pictures of Belmin from his wedding, which is a genuinely nice touch.

Gorgeous Graphics Follow You the Entire Time

The story revolves around disturbing mysteries hidden in the fictional town of Novazenica and its surroundings. Woven through this is a personal and emotional narrative that explores themes of memory, guilt, and connection to loved ones. Therefore, there will be various jump scares, such as people suddenly vanishing in front of you or a hand popping out of nowhere. Although that might sound cheap, these elements are skillfully implemented; right at the start of the game, while I was running out of a room, a little girl suddenly appeared in front of me, which truly gave me a fright because you simply don’t expect it.

This is not a classic horror game but leans towards an atmospheric approach. While solving puzzles, you’ll constantly hear footsteps and various sounds around you, which will certainly give you chills. In other words, the game slowly induces discomfort in the player through carefully crafted lighting and sound effects. Besides the horror, there are also puzzles, but they are quite simple, though they will test your resourcefulness and creativity as the solutions often won’t be obvious. The game is linear, which is expected, so you simply focus on following the given objectives.

The Vanished Soul stands out with two key aspects, the first being the importance of choice, which is already evident in the demo version. Your responses in conversations—for example, with your wife on the phone at the start—will very likely affect the very end of the story, given that the goal is precisely to reach her. Namely, your actions and the paths you choose can also influence the plot’s development, thus revealing different perspectives, outcomes, and consequences.

No Real “Classic” Horror Moments, the Atmosphere Affects Everything

The second important aspect is the dynamic fear system. As Belmin pointed out on Steam, no two playthroughs are the same when it comes to scary moments. The goal is to achieve maximum replayability, as everything in the game is randomly generated from predefined locations. The demo version may not have shown this feature off perfectly, but we certainly have a lot to look forward to if that turns out to be the case.

Let’s return to the puzzles for a moment. They range from simply moving boxes to a specific location to activate a platform to more complex tasks where you have to connect electrical circuits to progress. However, it’s nothing too difficult. Unfortunately, you can only pick up marked objects in the game. I was personally disappointed by the sounds when jumping, specifically landing on wooden parquet or a carpet, they simply don’t fit well. Overall, however, the horror sounds are really well done.

You can still play the demo version during the Steam Next Fest until Monday evening. Although the exact release date for the full game is not yet known, the demo lasts for a full hour. If you like slightly longer horror games or just atmospheric scares, The Vanished Soul is definitely worth a try.