Out of the Blue, the company behind the excellent story-driven Call of the Sea, has today announced its next game: American Arcadia.
The teaser trailer – which you can watch below – may only be 25 seconds long, but it’s enough to get us utterly intrigued. It speaks of a long-running reality TV show which follows American citizens 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But it seems the participants may not be as willing as you’d hope; one of them is trying to escape.
In fact, as per the press release, it seems the participants may not know at all. In American Arcadia, you’ll take on the role of two separate characters, both citizens of Arcadia. But it turns out they’re completely unaware that they’re being broadcast, with cameras watching their every move. In other words, there’s a strong The Truman Show vibe here, and we’re all for it.
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Interestingly, American Arcadia is going to be a game of two halves. Like Call of the Sea, part of it will see you exploring and solving puzzles in first person. But the other half is a 2.5D platformer. Expect chase sequences, stealth, hacking, and plenty of puzzles. Each character you play as fits into one of these halves – but it seems their lives will be intertwined in numerous ways.
Story will play a strong role, too, with narrative segments being delivered as a faux documentary about the TV show the game centres around. You’ll be privy to interviews and police interrogations as you piece together the reality of American Arcadia. It’ll be brought to life with an impressive voice cast: Yuri Lowenthal (Spider-Man 1 and 2), Cissy Jones (Firewatch) and Krizia Bajos (Cyberpunk 2077) are all on board.
A full trailer, and more information, is set to be revealed at this year’s Summer Game Fest. For now, watch the teaser trailer below, or check out more information on the official website.
