Trapped in an underground bunker with your finger on the button, interpret intelligence signals, question unreliable AI advisors, and decide whether to escalate, stand down, or unleash doomsday.

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Coming Soon To Early Access

The developers of this game intend to release as a work in progress, developing with the feedback of players.

Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“As an indie title taking a new technology and fitting it into a retro-minimalist game loop, we plan to develop the game to its fullest form alongside a community of players. ”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Roughly 3-6 months, the game is intended to remain relatively small. ”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“We plan to add more diversion activities for when the players are waiting for the next intelligence signal; to advance the expirience of playing with LLM-based NPCs; to improve input actions including alternative input methods; to potentially add another room to the map; to add special events; and we plan to improve and polish the game in general. We also plan to expand accessibility and languages. ”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version of the game contains a full game loop and is a fully fleshed out base game. The Early Access period is intended to work with a community of gamers to help further enhance and polish the game. All features mentioned in the about page are currently implemented in the game, as is are several minigames, including an arcade game, to play in between panic periods. ”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“We plan to increase the price only once - when the game goes out of early access. ”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We would like to meet the community wherever they end up being at - but preferably on the Steam community page and on our Discord Server. We will be regularly speaking with players to field feature and enhancement suggestions and openly taking official support or bug tickets. ”
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This game is not yet available on Steam

Planned Release Date: Jul 3, 2026

This game plans to unlock in approximately 4 weeks

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About This Game

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║           > THE MOMENT OF PANIC <                 ║

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Hello Operator, we've been awaiting your decision.

The Moment of Panic is an experimental strategy game set in a dystopian future, where your finger rests on the button of a weapon of unimaginable destruction.

Buried deep underground and cut off from the outside world, you must interpret incoming intelligence signals with the help of advanced AI advisors. Your only job is to decide whether to step closer to doomsday, or pull the world back from the edge.

Some signals are warnings. Some are bait. Some are accidents. Some are lies.

Your AI advisors will analyze the situation, but they are not neutral. Each one has its own worldview, strategic instincts, and hidden priorities. One may urge escalation. Another may plead for restraint. Another may sound confident for all the wrong reasons.

You make the final call.

Escalate too quickly, and you may unleash the very disaster you were trying to prevent. Hesitate too long, and you may fail to stop a real attack. Every decision pushes the crisis closer to resolution, collapse, or launch.

You do not see the war. You do not fight the enemy. You sit in the bunker and decide what the world should fear.

Features

  • Interpret short, urgent intelligence signals from an unstable future world.

  • Consult AI advisors with distinct personalities, biases, and strategic beliefs.

  • Decide whether to escalate, de-escalate, or hold your position under pressure.

  • Manage uncertainty when no source of information can be fully trusted.

  • Experience a psychological strategy game about panic, paranoia, and irreversible decisions.

  • Replay crisis scenarios where signal truth, advisor behavior, and outcomes can shift.

Innovative Storytelling Using Local AI

The Moment of Panic uses a locally running, open-source large language model constrained by game logic to create AI advisors that feel reactive, opinionated, and alive.

These are not simple dialogue trees. Your advisors can interpret the current crisis, argue with each other, justify their recommendations, and attempt to influence your decision. But beneath every conversation, the game is still tracking truth, uncertainty, pressure, and consequence.

The machines can speak. They cannot always be trusted.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

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

The Moment of Panic uses generative artificial intelligence during gameplay to power its AI advisor characters. These locally running, open-source LLM-based advisors respond to intelligence signals, argue from assigned personalities, and attempt to influence the player’s decisions. Core game logic, threat truth, scoring, win/loss conditions, and outcomes are controlled by the game itself, not by the language model. Generative AI is used for dynamic in-game text responses only, and for some images shown alongside that text. Images are not generated at runtime.

System Requirements

    Minimum:
    • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-8600 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
    • Memory: 8192 MB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB / AMD RX 5700 8GB
    • DirectX: Version 12
    • Storage: 8192 MB available space
    • Additional Notes: Requires dedicated GPU with 6GB+ VRAM for on-device LLM. NVIDIA GPU strongly recommended.
    Recommended:
    • OS: Windows 11
    • Processor: Intel Core i7-9700K / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    • Memory: 16384 MB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 2060 8GB / AMD RX 6600 XT 8GB
    • DirectX: Version 12
    • Storage: 8192 MB available space
    • Additional Notes: NVIDIA RTX GPU recommended for fastest LLM response times. SSD recommended.
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