Prologue: Go Wayback! is the latest project from PLAYERUNKNOWN Productions, the studio founded by Brendan Greene, creator of PUBG. Unlike his previous work, this title abandons large-scale battle royale action in favor of a more intimate and realistic survival experience. Released in Open Beta on August 12, 2025, and available on Steam and the Epic Games Store.
The game puts players in the shoes of Lucy, a lone survivor tasked with reaching a remote weather tower. There are no zombies, no mutants, no apocalyptic disasters, just the struggle against cold, hunger, and thirst, set against the backdrop of a harsh mountain wilderness.
An original idea in its simplicity
In Prologue: Go Wayback! there is no complex or cinematic storyline guiding the player. The only piece of information you’re given is that you are Lucy, a survivor who must reach a weather tower starting from a mountain shelter. Resources are scarce, clothing is inadequate for the cold, and every step becomes a small struggle to keep your body alive. It’s an essential yet surprisingly fresh concept, one that doesn’t rely on zombies or apocalyptic disasters, but on the realism of pure survival.
Step by step survival
At the core lies a fragile balance: hunger, thirst, and temperature decide your fate. You survive by scavenging, cooking, lighting fires, and using mountain shelters. Generators give power and light, clothing helps against cold, and every item can be useful. Floppy disks, tapes, binoculars, nothing is useless if you learn how to use it. The early game is brutal: getting lost, freezing, starving, slipping, your first deaths are part of learning. Once you adapt, the world opens up to personal and community-driven challenges. Reach the tower first. Walk the farthest. Survive the longest. It’s single-player, but the community is always watching.
Atmosphere and technical side
Visually, Prologue: Go Wayback! aims for realism, with convincing details like trees swaying in the wind and flickering lights in old cabins. Some assets, like leaves, still feel flat and unfinished, a reminder that the game is in beta. What truly defines the atmosphere, though, is the sound design: there’s no music, only the creaking of windows, the rustle of the forest, and the whistle of the wind. This choice creates a sense of isolation and immersion, turning every step into a quiet yet tense experience.
Conclusion
Prologue: Go Wayback! stands out thanks to its originality and restraint: it strips survival down to its essentials, asking players to endure nature itself rather than fight supernatural threats. It’s replayable not only because of the journey toward the tower but also because of the many challenges players invent for themselves, and future updates may expand its longevity even further. Recommended to fans of hiking, mountaineering, and realistic survival sims, it’s a game where the greatest enemy isn’t an invading horde, but the cold, the hunger, and the solitude of the wild.
Add it to your wishlist on Steam or Epic Games and prepare to face the mountain.
