Artless Games has released the sci-fi language-decoding puzzle game *Message From Aliens* for PC (Steam) starting November 2, 2026.
From number systems to alien cultures—even alien jokes pop up!
Inspired by the novels *The Story of Your Life* and *Contact*, this sci-fi puzzle game challenges players to decipher mysterious text received from space to uncover the sender’s identity and the message’s meaning.
It’s not just the messages you’ll be deciphering—even the UI is composed of unknown characters. The game features over 1,000 unique ideograms and more than 20,000 characters of in-game text. Although a dictionary is provided, the game takes its approach to the extreme by explaining the alien language entirely in the alien language itself.
The game is divided into several chapters. In Chapter 1, you’ll focus on mathematical formulas to decipher how aliens represent numbers. From there, you’ll gradually delve into their culture and philosophy, and by the final chapter, you’ll even encounter poetry and jokes.
It’s worth noting that you don’t need to decipher every single text to reach the ending. However, additional content and secrets await players with a spirit of inquiry—so even if you ever encounter aliens, you’ll be well-prepared.
A demo for this title was released in September 2026, and as of this writing, it has garnered 203 Steam reviews and earned a “Very Positive” rating. Players have praised the joy of gradually being able to read the text after starting from scratch, the design that goes beyond simply substituting existing languages, and the sense of accomplishment when one discovery leads to another.
*Message From Aliens* is currently available for PC (Steam). While the Steam store page indicates that the game supports Japanese, the in-game text consists of unknown characters. A demo version of the game is also available.
