Tatler Tales

HONG KONG HAS BECOME central to one of this year’s most highly anticipated gaming titles. , originally slated to come out last October but now set to be released on PlayStation 5 in “early 2022”, according to French developer BlueTwelve, is an open-world game where players take on the role of a street cat navigating a cybercity inhabited by robots by solving puzzles and evading enemies. , formerly known as , is said to be heavily influenced by the unique aesthetic of the Kowloon Walled City, conveyed through narrow alleyways pierced with neon lights. For Hongkongers looking for signs of home in the map design, producer Swann Martin-Raget told magazine that the environment was designed in such a way as to evoke a sense of alienation. “Obviously this place is supposed to be at least unwelcoming,” says Martin-Raget. “This is why we also developed an alphabet for the whole language for the game—to have players really feel that they don’t understand this place and they don’t get all the codes of this environment. Meanwhile, gamers’ excitement continued to ramp up—cats are one of the main pillars of the internet, after all. “This is a console seller,” said one fan.