Project Songbird is a psychological horror with an emotional story. Developed by Connor Rush and published by FYRE Games, Project Songbird was released on March 26th, 2026. Project Songbird focuses on creating an atmospheric horror rather than relying on cheap jumpscares. It is somewhat of a slow burn into the horror elements, but once it hits, it doesn’t slow down much until the end. If you’ve read my previous psychological horror review, you know that I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to this genre. I love watching people play and analyze these games for their stories and their hidden truths. However, I hate being in the driver seat myself because I scare way too easily. Even without cheap jumpscares, I still felt on-edge most of the time.
Alongside the horror is a story that is deep and emotional. Players play as Dakota, a musician that wants to change their style of music, specifically to work through a recent traumatic event, and is having trouble doing so. To help with their writer’s block, their producer sends them to a remote cabin in the woods. The story does cover sensitive topics that many might have a hard time with. The game warns you about these topics in the beginning, so please keep this in mind if you feel you might get triggered.
Overall, I can easily recommend Project Songbird to psychological horror fans, especially those who like a good story. The experience isn’t a very long one—roughly 4-5 hours—but I thought the pacing is well done. I like that the story has a message behind it, one that developer Connor Rush expresses to players through their work and sometimes directly. I like that the horror is more atmospheric and isn’t always in your face. Whereas puzzles are weaved in nicely, I felt that combat was a bit forced at times, but this is more so a personal preference. Overall, Project Songbird is a great game that deserves the recommendation and recognition for the indie horror genre.
Project Songbird is rich in story. I will keep my review as spoiler free as possible, including images taken only in the first hour before much of the horror. My review will only cover some basic mechanics, story and horror elements as I encourage you to go in to the game as spoiler-free as possible. So, let’s write some music, because its time to discuss Project Songbird!
Dakota, Neon Songbird
For the next few paragraphs, I am going to give the set up to the story. Nothing mentioned is a major spoiler, but feel free to skip this section if you would like to not have anything spoiled.
Dakota is a musician who has previously released music under the stage name Neon Songbird. They’ve found some success in previous songs, enough to land them a producer, Rob. However, after experiencing a traumatic event, Dakota is struggling with a mixed case of writer’s block and aspirations of changing. Dakota wants to write a song that will help them work through their trauma but struggles to find the words. And on the other hand, the fans don’t seem too fond of this new style of music. Rob encourages Dakota to go back to the original stuff, the stuff that sells, but Dakota is persistent.
Rob encourages Dakota to write one more album—one that is ‘true’ to Neon Songbird. To help Dakota, Rob recommends that they go to his friend’s cabin in West Virginia woods. The cabin is said to have helped many musicians with their music in the past. Dakota agrees and heads off. Before heading off though, be sure to take a look in the bathroom mirror.
(No reflection, so Dakota must be a vampire.)
Jokes aside, Project Songbird is quite pleasing visually, especially after arriving at the cabin. Everything in the forest seems peaceful despite the few boarded up paths, including one that warns ‘keep out’. With the field recorder, Dakota can record various sounds to use in their music, such as a running stream or a woodpecker. Dakota can also pull out a vintage camera to take photos, as well as use the flash for when things get dark. Dakota can also chop firewood with a nearby axe.
However, Dakota is here to work. They jump into writing the album’s first song, delivering a moment that genuinely made me laugh out loud. I know practically nothing when it comes to writing or producing music. The game lets you choose from three options a style of music for each instrument. The noise produced was so awful it actually made me laugh. With night drawing close, Dakota goes to get some water from the pipe. The black sludge that came out is probably not drinkable though, so Dakota decides that is a problem for tomorrow. That night, something can be heard going through the trash bin out back.
That’s just the beginning. From here, the story gets deeper and I would encourage you to go into the rest as spoiler free as possible. It is an emotional story that is well written. It did a fantastic job at catching my attention and keeping it as a player. I wanted to know what was going to happen next with each unexpected plot point. I think it could also be relatable to many, but I’ll discuss this a bit more later on.
Of course it wouldn’t be a song about a musician without music. Project Songbird has quite a decent soundtrack, including some original songs. I really liked the ‘main song’ of the game (you’ll know what I mean if you play) and would love to add it on my Youtube playlist. Other records can be listened to as well but are optional. This is great for anyone who plans to stream the game to avoid copyright concerns.
The last thing to mention are the puzzles. They had varying levels of trickiness, ranging from pretty easy to quite complicated. The first puzzle you’ll run into is fixing the water and the instructions to do so are practically handed to the player. Some later puzzles, such as one involving a piano, get a little more challenging. None of them felt impossible to figure out though and I never needed to rely on a walkthrough guide.
Horrors in the Forest
This section will focus on the horror elements, describing the two types of enemies, as well as the combat. I won’t include images of the monsters nor describe what they look like, but I do think it’s important to discuss their combat/gameplay styles for my review.
There are two types of monsters Dakota will run into. The first is more along the lines of something in a Resident Evil game. In certain sections of the game, usually in a maze-like area, these creatures wander around. Dakota will to need run and hide from them or face them in combat. Weapons Dakota can carry, such as the axe mentioned earlier or a few types of guns, can be improved on at workbenches. However, Dakota is by no means a weapons-expert. Upgrades can only do so much for combat and bullets are a rare find. Though more challenging, this makes combat feel a tad bit forced—not forced to fight, but a ‘forced into the game’ way, which is odd. I wouldn’t have minded the game being fully stealth, maybe with some light combat in the form of blocking attacks, but again, this is just a personal preference.
The second monster type is a tried and trusted Doctor Who‘s angels type—moving if you aren’t looking. These ones I will say are quite creepy as they breathe heavily moving closer towards you. It’s an equally helpful and chilling way to know when its time to turn around. I’m not entirely sure if these monsters can be combatted as personally, I never tried to hit them. I can imagine though that they cannot.
For combat, the HUD is pretty much blank. There is no visible health bar for Dakota other than the border of the screen getting red. They can take pain killers to heal, but players will need to guess when the best time to do so is. There is also no bullet count for guns either. Players will need to manually check the barrel to see how many bullets remain to know when its time to reload.
Another important aspect I think deserves mention is the saving system. Project Songbird relies solely on autosaving. There are no manual saves or exit saves. Though this approach heightens the tension in key moments, I did feel the spacing was a bit too wide. Players can sometimes lose 10 to 15 minutes of gameplay by a death, which isn’t much, but it can turn off some people—especially if much of that time is just walking around collecting items.
As mentioned, the horror in Project Songbird is a slow burn. It does not rely on cheap jumpscares to do the bulk of its scaring. Instead, it builds an atmosphere that keeps players tense and on edge. It wants to immerse players in the psychological horror, blending horror with the narrative. Between these two, it doesn’t feel one takes center-stage over the other. Despite my dislike for the combat, I was willing to put it aside in order to continue on in the journey.
A Personal Story
Before concluding, the last thing I’d like to discuss is Connor Rush’s decision to speak to players directly. The game opens with a handful of fourth‑wall breaks, where Rush talks directly to the player behind the screen. Rush states that this is their 7th game, having started developing Project Songbird during sophomore year of university as a way to “express and work through some difficult feelings I was having with regard to my identity and place in life.” Rush then states that “This game is nothing if not a labor of love and a deeply personal passion project.” This continues to happen a few times after as you play through the game.
Initially, I was a bit turned off about this. I thought it was an odd choice and a bit cheesy too. In some ways, I still do think this, but I think it’s similar to that of a creative non-fiction essay. Much like Connor Rush and Dakota, I too have worked through troubling moments in my life through my writing—particularly in my creative non-fiction essays where I needed to reflect on my own life experiences, thoughts, and emotions. Musicians often do similar things in their songs, with Dakota being a clear example. Why can’t game developers do the same with their games?
However, I think there could be a way to work it in a little better. The first thought that came to mind was Dr. Hill in Until Dawn. If you’re unfamiliar, Dr. Hill is a psychiatrist that appears throughout the game’s story, usually between chapters. For most of the game, he appears to break the fourth wall and address the players directly, commenting on their choices and reacting to their decisions. Near the end, the game reveals that he’s actually speaking to another character. I don’t think Project Songbird could have used the same setup, but it’s a good example of how a game can blur the fourth wall by weaving it more deliberately into the narrative. I also think just keeping the game as a metaphor rather than outright telling players that it is would have worked as well, but I digress.
Overall, Project Songbird deserves its very positive Steam rating. The game gets a lot right, particularly its horror and its narrative. The game’s flaws are too minor to outweigh its positives. I can easily recommend this one to anyone who is a fan of psychological horrors with a story. The narrative and deeper message perhaps aren’t life changing, but I do think many creatives will be able to relate in some way—hopefully without the trauma and the monsters. Just remember that your art, whatever that may look like, is for you. Even if there isn’t a whole lot of fans or popularity gained, don’t forget who the artist is—yourself.
Go out there and make some art and thank you for reading!
