Fire and Ashes Brings Voice-Reactive Horror to PS5 and Xbox on October 23

Fire and Ashes launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on October 23, 2026, following the game's PC release on October 14. The first-person horror game is developed by ASDstudio and published on consoles by Axyos Games, and its big hook is a microphone that hears you.

Okay, the setup is pure nightmare fuel: it's 1977, and Henry Gray wakes up in a bathtub full of blood that isn't his, inside a psychiatric hospital. From there, the story moves through secret laboratories and places tied to a tragedy in Henry's past, with puzzles to solve and story fragments to piece together along the way.

The optional voice recognition is where it gets tense. According to the game's Steam page, it picks up your breathing, whispers, and panic. You can hold your breath to keep from giving away your position, scream to distract enemies or buy time to run, or taunt them to open up a chance to attack. Make too much noise, though, and you draw them to you. A microphone is recommended, but the game can be played and finished without one.

And the things listening? Crazed guards, cannibals, former patients, victims of experiments, cybernetic creations, and ghosts, among other entities.

The details

• Console release: October 23, 2026 (PS5, Xbox Series X|S)
• PC: Out now on Steam and Epic Games Store (launched October 14)
• Developer: ASDstudio
• Console publisher: Axyos Games
• Microphone: Optional (breathing, whispers and shouts affect encounters)

Turns out the scariest thing in the asylum might be how loud you breathe.