Devlog #1 — The Introduction

Welcome to the first devlog for Clairvoyage: The Lighthouse. A time-loop horror puzzle game releasing on Steam later in 2026.

I've finally published the first peeks into the game with the Steam page, socials, and of course the devlog. After having worked on this game for months barely talking about it to anyone – it's nice to see it turn into something that exists in the real world.

Before I dive in to the game and its development I thought I'd introduce myself.

Who Am I?

My name is Niilo Luhtanen. I'm a game developer based in Helsinki, Finland. My background is in film and television and I got my Bachelor's Degree in film back in 2022. The programme didn't require a strict major, but I started out with doing sound design and then pivoted towards screenwriting and directing at the end of my studies.

If you were persuasive enough, the university provided us with equipment for any production we came up with. In my case this resulted in 12–14 hour days with personal projects, some freelance gigs, and then the actual studies. I learned a lot, had a lot of fun, but I also burned out. After graduating the plan was to go get a steady job for a year to calm down a bit and then start making my own movies. I got a job as a voice director, ended up doing it for 3 years, and during that time the Finnish film industry collapsed.

During the time I was supposed to be at the beginning of my bright and promising filmmaking career heading towards Hollywood at full speed, everyone around me was getting laid off. Film funding was being cut, production companies were going bust, and top-of-the-line actors were telling news outlets that they've started jobs in construction. It was clear that I had to refactor my life plans.

I didn't think I could develop games, but I just kept crawling and it kept working. I realized that my dream of filmmaking is about creating worlds to live in inside your head, and game development might even be a better fit for that dream. There's something strangely emotionally moving about having a world or a setting in your thoughts and then getting it out there and making it exist. I cannot express in words how incredibly fulfilling I've felt at times while developing this game and I'm very excited to get it out for everyone.

What The Game Is All About

I've been perfecting my elevator pitch for about six months now on anyone who I can trick into listening to it, so hear goes:

"Clairvoyage: The Lighthouse is a a time-loop horror puzzle game set on a stormy island. You have ten minutes to restore a dark lighthouse before a ship crashes into the rocks. When you fail, time resets — trapping you in an endless nightmare."

If I'm trying to explain it to someone who's not into games I might say something like:

"Think of it like a short film, except you're the one inside it. You're alone on a stormy island at night. A ship is about to crash into the rocks. You have ten minutes to restart the lighthouse. But every time you fail, the night resets. The deeper you dig into it, the stranger it gets. Journals, visions, voices from across time. Something is very wrong with this island."

I've found that comparing it to a short film helps explaining it.

To all the development-interested readers: the hook is that the player has 10-minutes to get a broken lighthouse working on a stormy island. That's a simple goal that's easy to explain an understand. The underlying lore is of course more interesting.

The game starts out with the player arriving to the island delivering supplies. The lighthouse keeper welcomes the player and suggests to spend the night because of the oncoming storm. There's something eerie about this arrangement and and the island but the player has no choice.

Thunder strikes. The player wakes up during the night and from their window they see a silhouette of a ship approaching the island – and an unlit lighthouse. The player runs to the lighthouse only to find the old lighthouse keeper dead by their own hand.

There's no other option but to to chase a trail of notes around the island that the old keeper has left behind – explaining how to operate the lighthouse and why it has come to this.

During this race against time the player finds strange beings on the island that seem out of this world. When the player fails to get the lighthouse operational, these beings manipulate the world to reset the night. They are able to communicate to the player: "We cannot save you. You can save us. Save us". It's an endless nightmare where the player must succeed in the mission to break the cycle.

So when is it playable?

Where Things Stand

I've playtested the game with a couple of people in my close circle. The game loop has been proven to work and most importantly – is also very fun. I'm very exited to work on the atmosphere of the island a bit more in the following weeks, and to get working on the demo.

The plan is to get the demo of the game to a stage of playtesting before it's release in the Steam Next Fest in October of 2026, so right about in August at the latest it should be playtestable.

Psst, If you want to be a part of the playtesting, please join us in Discord at https://discord.gg/JCb4A8PAJ

A Note on Scope

This is a solo project. Developing a game is a game of compromises and scope focus, which is why I'm focused on creating a short but very intensive experience for the player. What is lost in the amount of content is gained in the atmosphere and immersion, the engaging game mechanics, and the unforgettable story. The play time of the finalized game will be around 1–3 hours. If I can manage to find an audience for these kinds of games, there's definitely more Claivoyage projects coming.

Thanks for being here at the start. Remember to wishlist the game on Steam to get reminded when it's out!

— Niilo / Volpe Software