“It’s always those closest to you who can hurt you the most.” This aphorism once exclusively referred to your inner circle of family and friends—but now, thanks to the smartphone, its meaning has expanded beyond recognition. Thousands of strangers can bypass social convention and swarm the device in your pocket. And as BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW suggests: They don’t always mean well.

When collaborating with content creators on other projects, Sebastiano Serafini, founder of Serafini Productions, noticed that many projected an easygoing public persona to hide the psychological burden inflicted by anonymous strangers. That observation planted the seeds for the latest in the BrokenLore series, which takes an unflinching look at real social issues through the lens of supernatural horror.

“From the outside, their lives often seem perfect. In reality, they deal with a lot of pressure, anxiety, and self-doubt,” says Serafini. “We wanted to explore not only the creator’s perspective, but also those who consume content and are influenced by what they see online.”

BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW explores the issue through the eyes of Anne, a young woman growing up in a world that won’t accept her the way she is. Her life has been defined by bullying focused on her weight. The taunts of schoolfriends echo in her mind, and their insults manifest in writing on her flesh. She picks up a carton of milk from a forbiddingly padlocked fridge, and her inventory pointedly lists its calorie count.

Anne is forced to confront her deeply buried insecurities after she awakens trapped in her own home with her mother, an imperiously psychotic masked figure, and a slithering earthworm chimera who slams its head on the dinner table with loud demands to be fed. These monsters are disturbing and ugly, but recognizable. “We wanted our monsters to feel terrifying, but also emotionally grounded, as if there was something human behind them,” says Serafini.

Social media is arguably an area gaming is yet to get right. Although VIDEOVERSE did a fine job recreating a more innocent age of Miiverse gaming forums, BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW looks to confront the impact of the contemporary social media industry and its all-consuming nature. Reality and social media intermingle in BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW. It’s hard not to feel the judgement of an online crowd when Anne’s follower count appears unbidden, falling or rising, each time she picks up an item.

Serafini tells me that later levels, briefly glimpsed in the trailer, show the true power of the device that provides connection at a cost. Anne fires a crackling energy beam from her phone in a desperate effort to repel advancing monsters. “The phone becomes both a narrative and symbolic tool,” he explains, a metaphor for the power of words delivered through social media. “In certain sections, it can be used as a weapon against faceless mannequins, which represent online trolls—people who attack others without showing their identity."

As a real topic, BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW's themes hit painfully close to home for a number of people. The team called on the personal testimonies of content creators like Akidearest and Suzi Hunter, plus added expertise courtesy of psychologist Dr. Emanuela Papa, to make sure they took an informed approach to this sensitive topic. 

Silent Hill f recently examined similar topics, in that case using 1960s Japan as a backdrop for its dissection of bullying rather than BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW’s contemporary setting. An Italian living in Tokyo, Serafini sees Silent Hill as a kindred spirit, exploring horror across a variety of cultures and locations—as his team plans to do across Japan, Europe, and America in upcoming BrokenLore entries.

In Serafini’s mind, there’s no doubt the care and effort they took with challenging subject matter was worthwhile.

“Real social issues already carry a lot of fear, anxiety, and emotional weight. Horror allows us to externalize those feelings and give them a form players can confront,” he says. 

There have been times we’ve all felt pangs of loneliness, bullying, social pressure, and the fear of ostracization. While isolating the player is a common tactic to inspire fear, Serafini Productions hopes for the opposite effect: lessening the burden with the reassurance that it’s an experience shared by many.

“We want our games to be unsettling, but also reflective—to encourage players to think about their own experiences, or to feel less alone in what they’re going through,” he says. BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW is no exception.

“I hope BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW can be a form of support or quiet empowerment for people who face similar struggles. It’s important to talk about these topics openly and to seek professional help when needed. Facing our demons is difficult, but it’s something we shouldn’t do alone.”

BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW is available now on the Epic Games Store.