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Press release:
Dark Zone Studios has announced that their cinematic puzzle platformer 4:AM will launch on PC on December 10, plunging players into a near-future dystopia where society is split in two: those who control the mysterious substance known as the Yellow and those they use as lab rats to create it.

Aila is one of those lab rats and has broken out of the facility in hopes of freedom. With danger around every corner, brute force isn’t the answer. Players will need to observe, improvise and know when to run like their life depends on it.

At the heart of 4:AM is N.O.D.E., a system that allows players to copy objects directly from their surroundings and place them elsewhere in the environment. Furniture, debris, light sources and functional tools can become cover, distractions or escape routes, while elements including electricity, water and fire react dynamically to materials and context.

There is no single correct solution. Players can approach challenges through stealth, misdirection or risky improvisation, repurposing the environment to create their own way forward. Enemies respond to sound, movement and disruption, meaning a carefully constructed plan can quickly turn into a desperate escape.

Key features include:

Use the broken world around you: Duplicate objects from the environment with N.O.D.E. and repurpose them as cover, distractions, tools or escape routes.

Solve problems your way: Challenges support multiple approaches, from careful stealth and misdirection to improvised solutions when plans fall apart.

Threat or tool: Objects and environmental elements can protect you, expose you or turn the environment against you depending on how they’re used.

Run or hide, you decide: Enemies react to sound, movement and disruption. Staying unseen may be safest, but sometimes survival means running.

Would you risk it?: Events unfold around you whether you intervene or not, and your choices can determine who survives and how Aila’s story ends.

4:AM will be released on PC via Steam on December 10, 2026. A demo is available now.