Can the studio keep their premiere success going with their sophomore game?
Gone Home gained critical acclaim when it debuted in 2013, challenging many players’ ideas of what a video game can actually be. It revitalized the walking simulator genre and influenced the success of similar games released afterwards. Will their anticipated follow up game earn the same praise?
1) What We Know About Tacoma So Far
Tacoma takes place on a space station orbiting the moon, following the life of crewmember Amy Ferrier. Her first day on the job comes with a strange realization: the entire crew has suddenly vanished. As you play through the game you will explore the station, listening to audio files and examining objects as you attempt to unravel the mystery.
Being the only person in an abandoned space station cannot be easy.
A unique feature of Tacoma is its augmented reality logs, which allow you to view silhouettes of members of the missing crew, listening to their conversations and following them to different parts of the station. You are also able to rewind logs and view them from different angles, sometimes learning new information that would otherwise have gone overlooked. Like it’s predecessor, Tacoma’s focus is on story exploration and follows the same leisurely, combat-free pace.
Watch simulations of the crew for clues as to why they went missing.
2) Fullbright: The Studio Behind the Game
Fullbright was founded by two designers from Portland: Steve Gaynor and Karla Zimonja. Both had previously worked on Bioshock 2 and Bioshock Infinite and when they realized they preferred to work on games on a much smaller scale, they decided to break off and make their own company.
The game was initially delayed after its first preview at E3 in 2015 in order to allow for time to completely redesign player interaction, a result of playtesting feedback and a reexamination of what they wanted the game to be. During this time a new feature was also added to enhance gameplay: the ability to rewind and fast-forward through the augmented reality logs, a decision made to give the player a more interactive role in discovering the narrative.
3) Release Date
Tacoma is currently set for a release in Spring 2017, for both PC and Xbox One. At this year’s E3, new footage was released, showing the current state of the game and the new mechanics present. The footage can be viewed below.
While set in a drastically different setting, Tacoma seems to be following the same unique style of gameplay they did so well in Gone Home. Only time will tell if they will be able to elicit the same emotional connection and critical acclaim the second time around.
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