The Cradle: Episode 01

1996. Beneath a children's sanatorium that has been closed for years lies a radio station whose frequency, 4625, has been silent for three days. Signalman Vetrov is sent down to bring it back on air. The building is not as empty as expected: the lights still work, a phone rings in the nurse station, and someone is still looking after the children.

The Cradle: Episode 01 is a free first-person psychological horror game played in a web browser on PC or phone.

The game combines exploration, environmental storytelling and stealth. The player searches the sanatorium and the station beneath it, pieces the story together from notes, tapes and radio calls, and hides from a creature that hunts by sound. A playthrough takes about an hour and leads to one of three endings.