Cold Logic: The Nihilist Penguin

THIS IS AN UNFINISHED PROTOTYPE MADE BY ADRIAN MAGGIO (of CYBORG INTERACTIVE) DURING THE CNY GLOBAL GAME JAM 2026

Cold Logic is an absurdist 2D side-scroller about a research robot who follows a lone penguin walking inland—unable to change its path, choosing only to stay.

You play as AERIS-3 (Antarctic Ecological Research and Imaging System, version 3), an autonomous research robot left behind after all human activity at a research station in Antarctica ceased. With no further instructions and no contact from its creators, AERIS-3 continues its original duties: observing, recording, and attempting to understand the behavior of the local penguin colony.

Over years of isolation, as its AI systems grow increasingly complex, AERIS-3 becomes sentient—and quietly gives itself a name: Tim.

During routine observation, Tim detects an anomaly. A single penguin deviates from the colony’s migration path and begins walking inland—away from food, warmth, and survival. The penguin does not hesitate, does not look back, and does not respond to the environment around it.

Tim names the penguin Niles, noting the nihilistic nature of its choice.

Driven by curiosity and a sense of obligation, Tim chooses to follow. Unable to alter Niles’s path, Tim instead vows to protect it.

As the penguin marches deeper into the Antarctic interior, conditions grow increasingly hostile. Environmental hazards intensify, systems fail, and the world becomes quieter and more abstract. Niles never explains its choice, never changes course, and never acknowledges Tim’s presence. As the robot, you cannot change the penguin’s destination. You can only help it survive as long as possible—by mitigating hazards, navigating the environment, and choosing to stay close.

Cold Logic explores themes of observation, non-interference, and commitment in the absence of meaning. It is an absurdist game about following something you cannot understand—and choosing to remain, even when understanding may never arrive.