Message From Aliens saveslot: Restart & Save Guide

Learn what Message From Aliens saveslot switching supports, where Windows saves are stored, and how to protect demo progress before restarting.

Message From Aliens saveslot: The Quick Answer

Want a fresh start without throwing away your translation work? The Message From Aliens saveslot feature matters because the demo and full game share a save folder, so buying the game should not require starting over. The developer confirms that Message From Aliens saveslot switching exists, but deliberately leaves players to discover how to access it.

Message From Aliens official screenshot

Official screenshot · Source: Steam store

That distinction is important: there is official confirmation of a restart option, but the supplied announcements do not publish its location, button sequence, or symbol translations. Any guide claiming an exact click-by-click solution needs evidence beyond those announcements.

As of November 4, 2026, here is what the official material establishes:

Question	Confirmed answer
Can you switch save slots?	Yes, according to the developer’s launch announcement.
Where is the switch?	Its exact interface location is not officially published in the supplied material.
Does demo progress transfer?	It should, because the demo and full version share a save folder.
Is the Windows save folder known?	Yes; the developer provided its location.
Does the Steam listing include Steam Cloud?	Yes, but the supplied material does not explain its save-conflict behavior.

The safest approach is to preserve your existing files first, investigate the in-game switch second, and consider deleting progress only if you genuinely want a reset.

What the Developer Confirms About Save Slots

In the official Message From Aliens launch announcement, Artless Games explains that players can switch save slots to begin again. The developer also makes clear that discovering how to do so is part of the experience.

That fits the game’s design. Message From Aliens presents its interface in alien symbols, with your own notes serving as the human-language text you can read. Finding a familiar setting may therefore involve interpretation rather than looking for a plainly labeled English menu.

What is still undocumented?

The supplied official sources do not specify:

The number of available save slots.
The symbols associated with save-slot selection.
The exact menu path or input sequence.
Whether selecting an occupied slot presents an overwrite warning.
Which individual files store notes, puzzle progress, or preferences.

For a Message From Aliens saveslot guide, these are meaningful limits. Confirmation that switching exists does not establish how every part of that system behaves.

Avoid treating an unfamiliar symbol as a confirmed reset button. Likewise, do not assume that a particular file is disposable simply because its name looks temporary.

Switching slots and deleting progress are different

The developer presents switching slots as a way to restart and separately identifies the folder containing progress for players who prefer deletion. Those are distinct approaches, not interchangeable instructions.

Approach	What the official material supports	Practical caution
Continue your existing progress	Demo progress should carry into the full version.	Back up before troubleshooting a missing save.
Switch save slots	An in-game switching option exists.	Exact controls and overwrite behavior are undocumented.
Delete local progress	The developer identifies the save folder for this purpose.	Deletion can remove work you intended to keep.
Copy the save folder	A sensible file-preservation precaution.	A backup is not an officially documented save-import feature.

If your goal is simply another playthrough, investigate the built-in option before removing files.

Where the Windows Save Folder Is Located

The developer identifies this Windows location for Message From Aliens progress:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Artless Games\MessageFromAliens

The %USERPROFILE% portion refers to your Windows user folder. Using the variable avoids having to type your account name manually.

How to open the folder

Close Message From Aliens before handling its save files.
Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog.
Paste the full path shown above.
Press Enter.
Copy the entire MessageFromAliens folder to a separate backup location before changing anything.

Closing the game and copying the folder are general file-safety precautions, not a developer-published reset procedure.

A dated backup name, such as MessageFromAliens-backup-2026-11-04, can help distinguish an untouched copy from later experiments. Keep that copy outside the active save directory.

Step	Action	Why it helps
1	Exit the game.	Avoids changing files while the game may be using them.
2	Open the published save path.	Takes you to the location the developer identified.
3	Copy the whole folder elsewhere.	Preserves files without guessing which ones matter.
4	Confirm the copied folder contains files.	Helps catch an empty or incomplete copy.
5	Leave the backup untouched during testing.	Keeps a separate reference copy of your original state.

If the folder does not open

First, check the spelling and make sure you are using the Windows account under which you played. A missing folder alone does not establish that your progress has been erased.

The supplied sources do not document alternate save locations, file extensions, or a recovery tool. Avoid substituting a guessed Steam installation directory: the game’s installed files and its published progress location are not the same path.

This Message From Aliens saveslot path applies to the Windows version. As of the reference date, the developer had announced a planned macOS build, but no macOS save location was supplied.

How to Restart Without Rushing Into Deletion

The best restart method depends on whether you want to preserve your existing work, continue from the demo, or deliberately erase local progress.

Because decoding the interface is part of the puzzle, this is a spoiler-light safety workflow—not a claimed solution to the hidden save-slot controls.

For a second playthrough

Back up the current save folder, then look for the in-game switching option confirmed by the developer. Use your existing understanding of the interface to investigate, but do not assume a particular symbol means “new slot” without supporting context.

The Message From Aliens saveslot feature is the developer’s stated alternative to deleting progress when restarting. However, the announcement does not promise that every possible selection preserves every occupied slot.

If a control’s effect is unclear, pause before confirming it. Keeping a separate backup is more useful than relying on an undocumented warning screen.

For a deliberate reset

The launch announcement identifies the save folder for players who prefer to delete their progress. It does not provide a file-by-file cleanup procedure or explain what settings might also be affected.

Before deleting anything:

Decide whether you actually need a full reset rather than another slot.
Preserve a complete copy of the folder.
Close the game.
Read any Steam synchronization messages carefully.
Do not delete the only copy of progress you may later want.

The Steam listing includes Steam Cloud, but the supplied sources do not explain whether removed files will be restored, how conflicts are resolved, or how synchronization interacts with slot changes. A guaranteed cloud-reset procedure therefore cannot be provided from this material.

Your goal	Sensible first action	What not to assume
Start again while keeping earlier work	Back up, then investigate slot switching.	That an unknown selection cannot overwrite anything.
Continue after buying the full game	Check whether your existing progress appears.	That a manual transfer is required.
Remove local progress intentionally	Preserve a backup before considering deletion.	That Steam Cloud will necessarily keep or erase the same state.
Investigate missing progress	Protect the current folder before making changes.	That deleting files will recover an earlier save.

For example, someone who completed part of the demo should first launch the full version and check for that progress—not immediately clear the shared folder to “fix” the installation.

Demo Progress, Steam Cloud, and Missing Saves

The most useful Message From Aliens saveslot detail for returning demo players is straightforward: the developer says the demo and full release use the same save folder, so progress should carry over.

The word should matters. This describes expected behavior, not an unconditional guarantee covering every computer, Windows account, or synchronization state.

If your demo progress does not appear

Start with checks that do not alter your files:

Confirm that you are using the Windows account where you played the demo.
Open the published save folder and see whether files are present.
Copy those files to a separate backup location.
Check whether Steam is displaying a synchronization warning.
Record what happened before attempting a reset or asking for help.

Useful details for a help request include whether the issue followed the demo-to-full transition, whether you changed computers, and whether you already moved or deleted files. Avoid posting personal information from your Windows folder path.

These are troubleshooting precautions, not confirmed explanations for a specific missing-save problem.

Treat Steam Cloud as a feature, not a backup guarantee

Steam Cloud support is listed on the store page. However, the available official material does not establish synchronization timing, version history, or recovery guarantees.

A separate local copy remains worthwhile before experimenting. It preserves the files currently available to you without depending on an undocumented recovery process.

Also distinguish file preservation from a tested restoration method: the supplied announcements do not publish instructions for importing a backup. If you later need recovery help, knowing exactly what you copied and when will make the situation easier to explain.

FAQ

Where is the Message From Aliens saveslot option?

The developer confirms that an in-game save-slot switch exists but leaves players to discover it. The supplied official material does not publish its exact screen location, symbols, or button sequence. A precise walkthrough would require additional verified evidence.

Does Message From Aliens demo progress transfer to the full game?

It should. According to the developer’s launch announcement, the demo and full version share a save folder. Check the full game for your existing progress before attempting a manual transfer or deleting files.

Where are Message From Aliens saves stored on Windows?

The developer-provided location is %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Artless Games\MessageFromAliens. You can paste that path into the Windows Run dialog. Close the game and copy the entire folder elsewhere before making changes.

Should I delete my save folder to start over?

Not as your first step if you want to keep your earlier work. The developer confirms a save-slot switching option for restarting. If you deliberately choose deletion instead, preserve a separate backup first and remember that the supplied sources do not document Steam Cloud’s behavior after local files are removed.