Remote Control is a retro-styled sci-fi horror game built around typing. You play a desk-bound handler who steers other people through dangerous places by entering text commands, watching their vital signs, and deciding how much risk their bodies can take. A new demo trailer shown at the Game Devs of Color Expo 2026 gives the clearest look yet at how that loop works.
Quick answer: Remote Control is a text-command horror game from Weekend Games and Canteen. A new demo is playable now on Steam, with the full PC release planned for 2027.
What Remote Control is about
You play Gibson, a handler employed by Plutus. Rather than enter dangerous sites himself, he controls “proxies” from a terminal: human workers kept in cryogenic storage and sent into hazardous places under his direction. The trailer starts with an executive debriefing, where Gibson is told his paycheck is for doing the thinking on behalf of those foolish proxies.
The central mission shown is an order to investigate a place called “The Pelican,” and the supervisor makes the stakes plain by adding “no matter the cost.” The horror comes from that framing. Proxies are treated as expendable, and the trailer shows what happens when one of them dies in the field.
How the command-line gameplay works
You control a proxy by typing commands into a terminal, then watching the results through a first-person camera feed. Movement and inspection happen through simple text input rather than direct control of the character. The trailer shows entries like move forward, move west, and inspect, with help to list commands available for the full set.
The interface layers a corporate system called Plutus Systems over the camera view. Alongside the command log, the terminal offers menus for Explore, Map, Inventory, Camera Feed, Mission Database, and Location Readout, and it prints location updates such as “New Location: Gangway” and “New Location: Server Room” as the proxy moves.
Two on-screen readings matter most while you play. A heart-rate figure shown in BPM and a categorical stress meter (for example, “Stress: LOW”) let you judge how your proxy is holding up. Pushing an employee into obvious danger raises those numbers, which is how the game ties the typing puzzle to the horror.
Choosing a proxy and reading their profile
Before a mission you pick a proxy from a roster of cryo-frozen candidates. Each one comes with a profile card listing personal background, likes and dislikes, an employee code, time spent in cryo, and past completed missions. The demo highlights an employee named Cedar, who introduces himself with a direct message once selected.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Employee code | 2-0540 |
| Age | 34 |
| Years in cryo | 1 |
| Missions completed | 5 |
| Likes | Baked goods |
| Hates | Fire |
Those personal touches make the disposable framing land harder. You are not moving an anonymous pawn — you know Cedar’s age, his history, and even what he fears. The trailer follows him through fungus-choked corridors into a server room, where a terminal reveals an undelivered internal email about Plutus HR and a recipient named Reginald Fox, hinting at a corporate cover-up beneath the mission.
What happens when a proxy dies
Danger is real for the people you control. In the trailer, Cedar ends up sprinting down dark, red-lit corridors as an entity closes in, and the connection cuts to black. The view returns to a shadowy, static-filled desk displaying a single word: “Pathetic.” Losing a proxy is presented as a routine outcome, in keeping with the game’s cold corporate tone.
An earlier announcement trailer reinforced that idea, showing commands like move north, investigate, and even walk into fire being typed to send proxies straight into hazards. That video used the taglines “YOU ISSUE THE COMMAND” and “YOU DECIDE. THEY OBEY,” and teased a wider mystery with text shifting from “UNCOVER THE LIES” to “UNCOVER THE TRUTH.”
Release window and demo availability
Remote Control is developed and published under Weekend Games and Canteen, and it is heading to PC in 2027. A demo is available now on Steam, and the trailer ends by prompting viewers to try it and add the game to their wishlist. No exact launch date and time for the full release has been confirmed yet.
