While developer Odd Tales had unveiled its pixel art adventure game, The Last Night, almost an entire decade ago at E3 2017, the studio has largely maintained its silence on development. Now, taking to social media, director Tim Soret has finally started discussing the project.
While Soret didn’t quite reveal any new details about The Last Night, he has revealed that the team behind the game has been working hard for almost ten years on its own technology to develop it. Along with this, Soret also indicated that we might finally start getting more details in September.
“Next month, if everything goes according to plan, I should be out of a decade of sacrifice. It’s about time. I’m just getting started. I have so much more to offer to the world.” In another post, he thanked investors who had helped along the way, especially in a competitive industry where many indie teams fade away before releasing any game.
“Thankful to my angels and investors who helped us resist drinking from the poisoned well in the desert while finding our path to independence. There is a cemetery of indie studios that, lured by mirages of safety, accepted to be acquired only to be killed in the first storm.”
While he acknowledged that The Last Night may not end up feeling as impressive as it did when it was first showcased back in 2017, Soret instead mentioned that the team had essentially “traded prescience for relevance” when it came to the cyberpunk title’s themes.
“When The Last Night will come out, it won’t be as visionary as when it was originally conceived. But we traded prescience for relevance. Thanks to the evolution of technology and social dynamics eerily matching the trajectory we envisioned, the setting and the story will resonate.”
The Last Night takes place in what has been described as a “post-cyberpunk” world. Players take on the role of a young man named Charlie. Finding himself struggling to adapt to the lifestyle forced on him due to the AI-based civilization that has “robbed humanity of its dignity”, Charlie decides to take matters into his own hands. The story has been described as being a personal narrative for Charlie, giving us a look at the world through his eyes.
The visual style of The Last Night blends 2D and 3D styles, with its pixel art forming the finer details in the atmospheric-looking game. The art has been drawn and animated by hand, and makes use of compositing techniques and camera work to frame its dramatic scenes.
The core gameplay in The Last Night will be a blend of exploration, conversations, stealth, and gunplay. Players will have plenty of options to deal with threats, and can even pull out their guns during conversations as an intimidation tactic.
The Last Night is the first game being developed by Odd Tales, and the studio has noted that its development started in 2014 with a free prototype during a game jam. The game was originally being developed for PC and Xbox One. It is unknown whether the target platforms have changed since then.
