The space lanes just got a lot more dangerous—and a lot more bureaucratic. If you’ve ever wondered what Papers, Please would look like if it were set on a gritty industrial starship heading toward Jupiter, your wait is over. London-based indie outfit Cold Zephyr Games has officially released the first public demo for Contact Protocol, and it’s available to download on Steam right now.

Born from the corridors of the London College of Communication, Cold Zephyr Games is a studio to watch. Their debut title plunges you into a “cassette-future” solar system where humanity is strip-mining the stars and human life is just another line on a corporate ledger.

What is Contact Protocol?

You play as the security officer aboard the PALE HORSE, a Galileo Corporation vessel transporting miners to Ganymede. But this isn’t a high-octane dogfighter. This is a starship job simulator and investigation game where your primary weapons are your notebook, your digital records, and your gut instinct.

As ships approach your sector, it’s your job to:

Verify Identities: Cross-reference ship details against company records.

Manage Risks: Spot the difference between a legitimate transport and a corporate saboteur.

Make Hard Choices: Decide who passes and who gets turned away—but remember, the ships you’re judging are making the same decisions about you.

What’s in the Demo?

The demo offers a substantial slice of Act 1, giving players about 40 minutes of gameplay to test their investigative mettle. Here is a breakdown of what to expect:

The Vibes: Gritty, Tense, and Analogue

The game’s aesthetic is pure “cassette-future”—think chunky hardware, flickering CRT monitors, and the clatter of mechanical keys. It’s late-stage capitalism in deep space, featuring a soundtrack by Rob Marr and art direction by Peter Wood that perfectly captures the isolation of the space lanes.

The stakes are high: an unknown group has begun systematically destroying corporate ships. Are you dealing with Martian nationalists, space pirates, or a corporate conspiracy?

How to Play

The Contact Protocol demo is PC-only and can be found on their Steam Page. The full game is currently slated for a late summer 2026 release.

Pro Tip: Keep a close eye on your personal notebook. In this game, the information you don’t report might be just as important as the data you do.

Find out more here – http://coldzephyr.co.uk/ or here on Kickstarter – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/contactprotocol/contact-protocol

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