Hello Neighbor publisher tinyBuild and developer Jason Oda announced an “Emotional action adventure” gamevia Steam today called Waking. Set in the player’s mind, the game will have you lie in a coma while confronting your fears, desires, and trauma throughout your life.
The game’s Steam page describes it as an “emotional adventure in your subconscious.” While being trapped within a coma, it’s no surprise that the game addresses difficulties the player may have had in their life head-on. In order to succeed, you’ll be collecting memories from more positive moments in our life with a guided meditation overtone. A self-confessed difficult game with challenging combat, players will face adversity in gameplay as well as emotionally.
At the end of quests, you’ll take part in a guided meditation session that involves memories in your life. You enter these into the game via multi-choice options which will then customize your experience by providing weapons to you based on your choices. You will also be able to summon people to fight alongside you based on those you care about as you discover what led to your comatose state.
One look at the trailer and you can tell where the inspiration for the gameplay itself lies. The Steam listing specifically mentions that the game is designed for fans of Soulslike games. However, where Waking looks to set itself apart is the use of telekinetic attacks alongside the usual stab and parry affairs of the genre. According to the Steam page, players “will have to approach combat situations strategically in order to prevail.” Some of the larger foes in the trailer shows this as it has bigger monsters that may give players some trouble.
The playtime on Steam is listed as 20 or so hours and will release on PC and Xbox One this Summer. You can watch the trailer below.
