Indie publisher nakana.io and developer Lovable Hat Cult have unveiled Journey of the Broken Circle, a story-driven platformer “about falling in love and falling out of love”.
Journey of the Broken Circle is the story of a broken Circle on an existential journey to find something to make it whole. As it meets and forms relationships with other shapes that can fill in the missing piece, and with them come new abilities to help overcome the obstacles the game presents. In the trailer, for example, you can see a balloon-like shape that allows the Circle to float in the air.
But those relationships, and those abilities, are temporary. As a wise slug informs the Circle in the game’s trailer, “Everything that has a beginning, has an ending.” With that, it seems Journey of the Broken Circle will be as much about the loss that comes with any journey to find a sense of wholeness.
“We set out to do a game about that little something that always seem to be missing, be it a better job, a nicer place to live, or just the right partner. We were curious along the way: Would the Circle find what it was looking for? Or how would it all end? Games that take their starting point in a story and not in a game mechanic, can sometimes be hard to make, but the Journey Of The Broken Circle sort of made itself!
“We made the game because we had an important story we wanted to tell – a universal story we feel many can relate to.”
Lovable Hat Cult
Exploring emotion and relationships through interactive experiences like this is very much Lovable Hat Cult’s focus. As the Denmark-based studio describes itself: “Cults can be evil and malicious, but not this one. We are quite lovable. One thing that cults know how to do though, is to create the feeling of togetherness and that you are part of something greater. We want our digital experiences to give this feeling and so much more.”
Their previous works include Moontide Traveller, “a 2D interactive musical journey” created to challenge the taboos of talking about menstruation; The Divided Line, an art installation about “authorities, borders and our relationship with them”; and La Petite Mord, a “one of a kind digital erotic experience designed for touch” that’s available on iOS and Android. They’ve also been involved with events like Lyst Summit and Playmakers in Maldives.
Journey of the Broken Circle is coming to Nintendo Switch, PC, and iOS in September