Development gets started on Pera Coda 

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Time-looping narrative mystery in a surreal, purgatorial Istanbul unveiled for PC and consoles

No one can ever truly escape their past, no matter where they go or how hard they try. Perhaps not even after death, at least for the protagonist of Pera Coda, an upcoming isometric narrative co-production from Turkish developers Elyzio and Falan.

An attorney in Istanbul named Deniz is tormented by an accident that badly injured his beloved wife Rüya and destroyed their relationship. Unable to face the tragedy in life, he now finds himself in a "subconscious state between life and death," where he must become "the judge and defendant in the reckoning of his own soul." There's no hiding from the truth, as he's trapped in a nightmarish "purgatory-like loop" and forced to finally "confront the memories, regrets, and relationships that shaped him." The obstacles you encounter represent "emotional triggers that shape Deniz’s understanding of himself," and in each loop you'll need to solve puzzles and make important dialogue choices with "meaningful consequences" if he's to finally break the cycle once and for all.

Pera Coda is an isometric, neo-noir narrative mystery adventure that promises "the psychological depth of Disco Elysium, the exploration-driven mystery of Outer Wilds, and the looping puzzle mechanics of 12 Minutes." What those games don't have is the iconic real-world setting of this one, from "neon-drenched alleys to hauntingly familiar dreamscapes." This depiction of "a city of beauty in chaos" is "inspired by the architecture and emotional rhythms of Istanbul" and fashioned after the "twisting streets of [the] historic Pera neighborhood" but re-imagined with a surrealistic twist that "blurs memory, place, and time." Using simple point-and-click mechanics, players will live out and relive Deniz's trauma through "impactful dialogue choices and layered environmental puzzles." Progress through the protagonist's "existential trial" is dependent on a "masking" mechanic that allows players to "alter the states of specific objects" in such a way that they'll carry over from one time loop to the next, unlocking "new narrative paths" and influencing the direction of the story. 

There is no target release date for Pera Coda yet, but it's ready now for wishlisting on Steam, where the game will be launched for Windows PC (assuming time doesn't start looping on us), along with as-yet-unannounced consoles.