Planned Release Date: To be announced

About This Game

From Mount Ao to Mount Taibai, the Aotai Traverse runs more than a hundred kilometers along the ridges of the Qinling Mountains, most of it above 3,000 meters.

[i]Aotai Traverse: Survival Simulator[/i] is a single-player hardcore hiking survival sim. You manage time, route, gear, supplies, your body and your relationships with other hikers, and every call to push on, stop, help someone or turn back has a cost.

The mountain isn't out to get you. But every decision you make leaves a mark on it.

Before You Leave: A Fixed Budget, a Fixed Backpack

Shop for a tent, sleeping bag, stove, food and power banks on a limited online budget. Everything you add ends up on your shoulders. Go light and move fast, or go heavy and leave room for mistakes. There's no single right answer.

On the Trail: Read the Sky, the Path and Yourself

A clear morning can turn to thick fog, sleet or a blizzard before you reach the next camp. Damp clothing makes you colder, the cold slows you down, and getting lost wears down your will.

Warmth, Energy, Hydration, Satiety, Will and Health each have their own causes and their own fixes. Things never get worse without warning, and there's always a way to respond, each with its own price. You can misjudge the mountain, but it will never kill you for no reason.

You're Not Alone Up Here

Your companions and the strangers you meet all have their own gear, stamina, judgment and temper. They team up, fall behind, ask for help, turn you down, and when supplies run low, some of them start eyeing other people's packs.

Invite someone to hike with you, trade supplies, knock on a tent in the middle of the night to ask for shelter, or hear someone calling for help through the snow.

Making Camp: The Few Hours You Can Breathe

Pitch your tent, light the stove, melt snow for water, dry out your clothes and share a few words by the fire. A good night's sleep can pull you back from the edge. A bad one makes tomorrow's trail a lot longer.

The Unexpected: Every Event Has a Cause

A takin blocking the path, a dying headlamp, black ice, altitude sickness, a key piece of gear failing halfway up the ridge. Events grow out of your current weather, terrain, body and equipment. Every response means choosing who acts, what to use and how much time to spend, and then living with how it turns out.

A Note from the Developer

"Cyber-hiking: it costs you battery, not your life."

The weather, terrain and body systems in this game are abstractions designed for gameplay. They are not a reference for real outdoor activity. Please don't attempt the real Aotai Traverse without proper preparation and experience.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Character art is AI-generated and finely tuned to fit our game’s unique aesthetic and immersion. Additionally, parts of the soundtrack are created using AI.