Penguins confront Lovecraftian cosmic horror in the next game from the developers of Umurangi Generation

A penguin stands near the corpse of a fallen antarctic explorer in Penguin Colony.

Umurangi Generation wasn't just a stylish cyberpunk photography sim. It was a meditation on climate disaster, an indictment of global capitalist hegemony—the kind of game that makes it a little surprising when you hear that developer Origame Digital's next project is called Penguin Colony, which involves playing as penguins with different abilities.

Don't get me wrong, I like penguins as much as the next guy, but I figured there had to be something more at play here. It didn't take long to confirm, because the Steam page says Penguin Colony is a "narrative adventure game based on HP Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness."

(Image credit: Origame Digital)

The Steam listing includes features like "waddling, sliding and swimming"—lovely! It says you'll be able to "freely explore the Antarctic ice and the caverns beneath in non-linear order"—delightful! And, let's see here, you'll also "discover horrors buried under the ice and the dark history of the continent time forgot."

Oh. Oh no.

You might be wondering: Is "At the Mountains of Madness" a short story that's written from a penguin's perspective? And I can confirm that it isn't. It's about a doomed arctic expedition led by a Dr William Dyer of Miskatonic University, which gets a little complicated after a few minds and bodies are obliterated by the magnitude of unfathomable cosmic forces.

Helpfully, Origame Digital explains the penguin angle: "Our narrator is part of an expedition which has gone horribly wrong. Having been called by the old ones, his brain no longer experiences time linearly. Past, present and future have become one for him. The only thing who can hear his cry for help is you, a penguin awoken by a flare in the distance."

Now, I won't go into detail, but "At the Mountain of Madness" does feature some penguin content. I'll just say I'm interested to see what Penguin Colony's "different abilities and challenges" its unlockable penguins will possess. I'm sure it'll be fine.

Penguin Colony doesn't have a release date, but Origame Digital says it'll release a trailer and demo "in the coming months."