The next BrokenLore game turns urban climbing into a nightmare

BrokenLore: Ascend is bringing its mix of parkour and psychological horror to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Serafini Productions has released a new trailer for the upcoming first-person game about two vloggers climbing Tokyo's tallest tower. It is currently available to wishlist on the PlayStation Store and Steam.

Urban exploration videos are a staple of modern YouTube. They usually end with a wide-angle shot of a city skyline and a plea to subscribe. BrokenLore: Ascend imagines a scenario where the creators find something much worse than a trespassing charge waiting for them at the top.

The story follows Ren and Yui, two roof-toppers who run a channel called SKYLIMIT. They are obsessed with pushing their limits to feed their fame and rely on constantly escalating danger to keep viewers engaged. Elysium Tower is meant to be their masterpiece. They break in at night to begin the forbidden ascent. Ren sets the stage early on:

"Today we're in Tokyo to film the most extreme video of our career... we'll climb the tallest tower in Japan: the incredible ELYSIUM TOWER!"

The climb does not go as planned.

Climbing mechanics and supernatural threats

Players use parkour and climbing mechanics to navigate the red metal structure of the tower during a storm. The initial challenge is purely physical. Players must manage their footing and navigate the exposed framework while battered by rain and wind.

The gameplay loop forces players to balance stealth with vertical traversal. Ren and Yui cannot fight back against the supernatural threats. They have to hide in the shadows and find alternative routes up the structure to avoid detection. The first-person perspective makes the drop below constantly visible. This adds a layer of natural tension before the monsters even appear.

The environment eventually shifts from a standard urban climb into a dark, bloody nightmare. The physical reality of the tower begins to break down as the protagonists climb higher. The red steel beams give way to burning rooms and impossible architecture.

The main threat is the Rokurokubi, a yōkai from Japanese folklore that appears human but possesses an elongated, flexible neck. In Ascend, this entity stalks Ren and Yui through the twisting corridors and scaffolding of the tower. The monster is a physical manifestation of the protagonists' fear of becoming irrelevant and forgotten. Stopping the climb means losing their audience, but continuing upward puts their lives at risk.

The broader franchise

Ascend is the latest entry in the BrokenLore anthology from Serafini Productions. The studio has built an entire series around modern anxieties and digital culture. They released BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW in January 2026 to explore the psychological toll of social media bullying. That game put players in the shoes of a victim named Anne and used surreal environments to dissect online harassment.

Other titles in the franchise, like DON'T WATCH and LOW, have tackled hikikomori isolation and the pressure of mounting debt. Ascend continues that thematic focus on digital obsession and the desperate pursuit of views.

Soft Source is co-publishing the title. The audio presentation leans into the setting with full Japanese voice acting and English subtitles for the main story and primary characters. Elysium Tower is a fictionalized name, but the structure is based directly on Tokyo Tower. The real-world communications building was completed in 1958 and stands over 1,000 feet tall. Serafini Productions secured an official license to use its likeness. This grounds the supernatural horror in a recognizable piece of Japanese architecture.

The horror genre has plenty of haunted houses and abandoned asylums. Putting a monster on the side of a skyscraper forces players to deal with vertigo on top of the usual jump scares.