“No great art was ever created by playing it safe”: The craft of Project Songbird

The horror niche is broad and vibrant, encompassing everything from tense psychological terror to bloody fights for survival. An upcoming title that seems to dance between the two is Project Songbird, a cinematic, narrative-driven horror set in the Appalachian forest.

I got the chance to sit down with Conner Rush from FYRE Games and chat about all things Project Songbird at The Horror Game Awards 2025, learning about the game’s multitude of inspirations.

The Escapist recaps

• Project Songbird is an upcoming cinematic horror game from FYRE Games and Conner Rush.
• The game takes inspiration from a variety of places, including arthouse cinema, Alan Wake 2, and The Stanley Parable.
• Project Songbird follows Dakota, a talented musician suffering from writer’s block. They’re hoping to find some solace in a remote log cabin – but as you might expect, things don’t go quite to plan.
• Conner Rush took the time to chat about Project Songbird at The Horror Game Awards 2025, sharing the key inspirations behind the game’s cinematic feel and what players can expect when the title launches in full in 2026. 

Arthouse and Alan Wake

Project Songbird is a title that I’ve had my eye on ever since its reveal. I sat down with Conner Rush from FYRE Games at The Horror Game Awards 2025, curious to know more about the journey behind it.

“Project Songbird actually draws from a lot of horror films more than it does games,” Conner explained, saying that the arthouse genre was a big source of inspiration.

“So David Lynch’s work specifically is a big inspiration for me,” he continued, “specifically, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. In addition – I hate to use it as a colloquialism – but A24-type stuff. Hereditary, anything by Robert Eggers, Ari Aster… all that stuff really speaks to me.” 

Conner pointed out that his love of slow-burning, dread-inducing films can be seen throughout Project Songbird, saying that he’d been focused on taking a cinematographic approach, using establishing shots to build up an atmosphere.

Gameplay-wise, players should expect to see a blend of walking simulator and survival horror elements when digging into Project Songbird.

Conner expanded on this, saying, “So those survival horror elements; you’re going to get a lot of Resident Evil, Silent Hill, very specifically, Alan Wake 2… but also, a lot of [What Remains of] Edith Finch and Firewatch. Actually, our lead actor, Valerie Rose Lohman, is Edith Finch, which is an honor for me.”

I mentioned that I’d picked up on the Alan Wake energy while watching the trailer, particularly with the color palettes, and Conner seemed thrilled, adding that it was “the biggest compliment”.

“I wanted to make a lot of contrast between different, not only times of day, but temperatures, atmosphere,” he mused, “So you’ll get those warm yellows and oranges during the day, it feels bright… welcoming, contrasted with rainy blues and grays and heavy fogs, and it all kind of reflects the main protagonist’s inner mental state.”

Creating Dakota

Dakota seems like they’ll be a highlight of Project Songbird. I was curious about what the process of bringing the protagonist to life was like, and Conner shared that it was a beautiful journey.

“The first step of bringing Dakota to life was, honestly, a lot of self-reflection,” Conner revealed, “The story… is drawn on a lot of personal experience of mine. I grew up in the same region, that West Virginia forest, and I’m an artist and musician…

“I took a lot of my own feelings towards art and how I would react to these things that Dakota is dealing with. On top of that, I really wanted to paint Dakota as their own person; they are staunchly independent… self-reflective, and they’re very deep in their own thoughts, and very quick to hide their emotions.”

“It was interesting to see Valerie as they kind of picked up on these character traits that I wasn’t even aware of and that I wasn’t intentionally writing in,” Conner added, “So it’s just a little bit of all of us creating this character together, and I loved that process.

“I wrote this script over the course of a few years; it went through many versions, many drafts. The first draft is likely unidentifiable as a final version of the game, and to have worked so hard on that, and then to have gotten these actors that I’m a fan of, like Edith Finch is one of my favorite games of all time.”

He shared that seeing the cast embody his characters was a deeply emotional experience and that there were a few points during the recording sessions where he found himself tearing up, adding that he was immensely proud of the cast.

Building up tension

Conner described Project Songbird as “mechanically simple”, but noted that meticulous detail had been put in; players will need to physically check their ammo, for example, and there are special records for collectors to hunt down.

I wondered if Conner was excited to see the fan reactions to Project Songbird; he shared that he was, but that he was nervous as well.

“A philosophy that I approached Project Songbird with was that no great art was created by ever playing it safe,” he shared, “So while there are these traditional elements – you have the survival horror, limited ammo, enemy combat –  there are some risky things in this game.

“There are some things where I thought, will people respond to this? But this is a game that, more than anything I’ve made before, I made for myself. I wanted to make something I would be proud of and be happy with, and I just know if I didn’t explore some of the ideas that I am, I would not be as satisfied with the final version.”

Project Songbird is an upcoming horror game from FYRE Games and Conner Rush, due to come out in the first quarter of 2026. Fans of Resident Evil, Alan Wake, and the work of David Lynch should keep a restless eye out for this promising gem from the indie horror scene. 

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References

1. Project Songbird on Steam (Steam)