Sunset (Tale of Tales)
We recently had the opportunity to check out Sunset, the upcoming release from Tale of Tales. Players familiar with their previous work, such as The Path and The Graveyard, will already know that the developers have a penchant for titles that are hard to pigeonhole. This refusal to conform to what normal constitutes as a game has won them some detractors, but just as many fans. Sunset sees the developers explore another interesting avenue, this time from the perspective of an American tourist who is trapped in South America during a revolution.
The preview version we played sees your character, Angela Burnes, working as a housekeeper for a very wealthy man named Gabriel Ortega. While the full game is spread out across 44 sessions, each lasting one fictional hour in-game, the preview version only provided a glimpse into three of these sessions. Each session Angela is provided with a note listing the chores she must perform, but other than that you are given free reign of Ortega’s apartment.
As you roam the apartment in first person, Angela’s thoughts are displayed on the screen. You can also interact with certain objects, although performing actions advances the time faster. During our exploration of the penthouse we discovered items that Angela can interact with in a “neutral” or “romantic” manner and these choices seemingly affect her relationship with the unseen owner of the apartment. Later visits to the apartment, once during Christmas and once late in the game, revealed how much the relationship between Angela and her employer had progressed, and also how much the situation outside the apartment had deteriorated. As the game is set against the backdrop of a revolution things started off relatively calm, but right before the preview ended things had gotten considerably worse.
Seeing as the entire game is set inside the apartment we will have to wait until the full release to see if this setting can remain interesting to explore and interact with. There were definitely noticeable changes to the place during the three occasions we got to check it out, but it will be interesting to see just how much your actions can influence things. Visually Sunset is already looking very good, with the lighting in particular being very effective at setting the mood.
We will take a much more in-depth look at Sunset when the full version is available, but this preview definitely has us very intrigued. Sunset is available for pre-order already, so if you are a fan of Tall of Tales, this definitely looks like something that you might want to support.
Looboo February 19, 2015
Hope it is longer than the graveyard game.