'Phoning Home' release date, latest news: Exploration video game now available on Steam

"Phoning Home," an exploration video game about a shipwrecked robot's mission to contact his world and escape from an uncharted planet, is now available on Windows PC via Steam.

Gamers fill in the shoes of ION, a young exploration unit that is on a mission to secure natural resources. However, ION's ship crash-landed on an alien planet, and it was almost completely destroyed. Now, the explorer must find a way to survive in the hostile environment of the planet as it attempts to find a way to contact its home planet in order to be rescued.

Along the way, ION encounters another mechanical castaway named ANI, who becomes ION's faithful ally and companion. With ION's maneuverability and ANI's offensive prowess, the two mechanical units form a symbiotic relationship that aids them in their effort to survive.

As reported by Develop Online, the game's visuals feature breathtaking views, and they have brought to life the alien world's bizarre creatures, enigmatic portals, as well as other mysteries. The game is designed with dynamic weather and realistic day–night cycles. It also boasts of a beautiful soundtrack.

"Phoning Home is a captivating game full of secrets waiting to be uncovered and breathtaking environments to explore," ION LANDS founder Marko Dieckmann said. "It's been a wonderful experience seeing this project transform from a concept into reality and everyone on the team is eager for the PC gaming community to see ION and ANI's story unfold," he went on to say.

The video game has full voiceovers in both English and in German. It also has localized subtitled versions available in French, Russian, and Spanish.

To promote the video game, several trailers have also been launched, which are meant to entice gamers to purchase and test out the game. The trailers feature an authentically compelling world that gamers would want to delve into while uncovering the real cause of the ship's crash.

Interested gamers can purchase "Phoning Home" for $19.99 on Steam, but they will also get a 10 percent discount if they purchase the game during its launch week.