Developer/publisher Xbox Game Studios (Compulsion Games) Format PC, Xbox Series Release TBA
Between the vaudeville trappings of puzzler and the ’60s psychedelia of survivalCompulsion Games can certainly deliver a distinctive aesthetic. So it’s no great surprise that some of the most memorable imagery of the Xbox showcase should come from the Montreal studio. Via an angular, stop-motion visual style redolent of animation house Laika, it introduces us to demonic blues guitarist Shakin’ Bones, perched on a pier in a Mississippi bayou. His crooning is interrupted by the game’s protagonist Hazel, who asks for help locating a creature that is, as trailer convention dictates, about to rise up from the swamp behind her. Handsome stuff, though with no introduction beyond the basso-profundo “world premiere”, it’s only after a visit to its Steam page that we learn this is a thirdperson action adventure in which Hazel uses “mythical weaving powers” to take on her fantastical quarry. Five years after the studio’s acquisition, it’s a reminder of how long contemporary games take to make – and given the issues surrounding (whose early teasers set expectations it was never designed to meet), the lack of playable action is a risky tactic. Here’s hoping it’s third time lucky for Compulsion, and that it finally releases a game that’s as good to play as it is to look at.
