Stylized episodic point-and-click “gametoon” due to launch soon on PC and mobile devices
In the famous fairy tale “Rapunzel,” the eponymous long-haired beauty is trapped in a tower until a prince comes along to help her hatch an escape plan. (Although it certainly doesn’t end up exactly as planned.) The heroine of Punzel, however, will have to take matters into her own hands when the first chapter of a planned five-part “gametoon” series is released early next year.
In an alternate universe where Punzel is “held in the Overlord’s castle guarded by his loyal minions,” it seems there is no rescue coming for the young princess. Indeed, whenever a prince arrives to free her from captivity, the attempt “usually doesn’t work out for the princess at all.” And so at long last, “bored and tired of waiting” in her room day after day, Punzel decides it’s time to “take action herself … by establishing friendships with the various creatures within the tower” as the first step in gaining her freedom.
Presented like a hand-drawn interactive comic with simple point-and-click controls, the debut installment of Punzel – subtitled Toujours la Meme Histoire, loosely translated as “Aways the Same Story” – tasks players with exploring the tower in which the protagonist is imprisoned, searching for the “secrets and hidden treasures that lie hidden all over the game.” The key gameplay mechanic, however, is based on “social interactions in which you build friendships with the creatures and monsters you encounter … using gestures, reactions and facial expressions.” Only by mastering these concepts will you be able to find success and continue your quest to escape.
There will be five parts in total to complete Punzel’s story, each beginning in the tower but adding new locations and characters in the princess’s ongoing quest to gain more “freedom and agency.” The first chapter is due to be launched on Steam for Windows PC sometime in the first quarter of 2023, with mobile versions on the App Store and Google Play to follow later. For those with Android devices, a demo is available to try now, while everyone else can check out the developer’s website and Instagram page to view illustrated “diary” entries representing the various activities Punzel has been engaged in while futilely waiting for a prince’s rescue that never comes.
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