A solo developer from Kuwait is building one of the most unsettling horror premises we have seen in a while: a space station, a bioweapon, and hallucinations you cannot trust.

There is something quietly remarkable about Toxoplasma before you even get to the game itself. It is being built by a single developer from Kuwait, Mohammad Baqer of SimmeringConcrete, who is making it while working a full-time job and expecting a daughter. That context matters, because Toxoplasma is not a casual project. It is a deeply personal one, rooted in real fears about watching people you love change, about loss, and about what comes after. Horror fans can get their first taste of it when the Steam demo launches on April 9, 2026.

Demo launch: April 9, 2026 — PC via Steam, free to play

What is Toxoplasma?

You are alone on an abandoned space station. Your job is to develop a bioweapon — one specifically designed to make anyone it infects hallucinate demonic entities until they die. The world below is already falling apart, consumed by rising violence and misanthropy, and somehow you have ended up here, working toward something that could end humanity entirely. The catch is that the infection is already in the station. And possibly in you.

Every day you work on the weapon, you have to monitor yourself for signs of contamination. Anomalies appear. Hallucinations creep in. The line between what is real and what your infected mind is showing you gets harder to hold. You are racing to finish your research before the hallucinations become fatal, while also trying to piece together exactly why you are there and who put you there.

Developer Mohammad Baqer put the emotional core of the game clearly:

“The psychological horror games that stuck with me the most are the ones that played into real human fears and experiences; for example, seeing your loved ones change due to mental illness, the eventual loss of them, and the aftermath. These are the themes of Toxoplasma.” — Mohammad Baqer, Solo Developer, SimmeringConcrete

That grounding in real grief and real fear is what separates Toxoplasma from generic sci-fi horror. The demonic hallucinations are terrifying, but they are also a metaphor for something painfully recognizable: watching someone you love become unrecognizable, and not knowing what is real anymore.

What the demo includes

The April 9 demo introduces the space station setting and lays out some early story beats, giving players a proper feel for the game’s atmosphere and moment-to-moment loop. The big draw is the anomaly system: the demo features over 20 possible anomalies and hallucinations that can appear as you carry out your daily research. Because the infection manifests differently every playthrough, no two runs will be identical. That kind of variability is a strong sign of a well-designed horror system — it keeps even returning players unsettled, because they can never be fully certain what they saw last time will be what they see this time.

Key features:

  • Identify anomalies before your hallucinations become fatal
  • Progress your bioweapon research day by day
  • Distinguish reality from demonic hallucinations — easier said than done
  • Piece together the conspiracy through scattered evidence and radio transmissions
  • Multiple endings shaped by your choices, including a hidden ending
  • Over 20 possible anomalies in the demo alone, with no two playthroughs identical

The developer behind it

SimmeringConcrete is Mohammad Baqer, and his origin story as a horror fan is one many of us will recognize: growing up playing PS1 and PS2 horror games with his mom. That early exposure to the classics clearly left a mark, and Toxoplasma feels like the kind of game that could do the same for players discovering it now.

The fact that he is building this solo, around a full-time job, with a daughter on the way, makes the ambition of what he is attempting all the more striking. Getting a free demo on April 9 is a genuinely good deal for horror fans who want to see what one passionate developer can build when the subject matter means something to them personally.

Should you play the demo?

If you are a fan of psychological horror, first-person sci-fi, or games that use genre as a vehicle for real emotional weight, yes — absolutely. The demo is free, it launches April 9 on Steam, and the premise alone puts it firmly in must-try territory. Wishlist it now so you do not miss the drop.

Toxoplasma demo launches April 9, 2026 on PC via Steam. Developed by SimmeringConcrete.