Unleaving drawing closer to March 27th release

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Side-scrolling "arthouse experience" blends classic paint strokes with puzzle-platforming gameplay

If you're sick of debating the tiresome question of whether games are art, perhaps just point to orangutan matter's upcoming puzzle-platformer Unleaving and leave it at that. 

Instead of telling a linear, straightforward story, Unleaving is more of a poetic representation of the journey of one small child through "the bizarre nature of life’s mystery and illusion" while contemplating death. In seeking to find understanding and enlightenment for a "burdened" soul, the young red-haired protagonist embraces the temptation to venture into a surreal world "challenging ideas of everything and nothing" in an "experiential game where art meets interactivity."

If its "metaphoric abstract narrative" sounds rather impenetrable (as art often does), rest assured that the rest of the game is more easily described, if not exactly traditional. Unleaving presents a series of Limbo-like physics puzzles and light platforming challenges throughout a side-scrolling world in which "every frame is a literal painting." The landscapes are actual works of art done in an impressionist style, brought to life with animation techniques involving "altering acrylic painting on canvas paper while capturing frames during the painting process." These living brushstrokes and textures are meant to immerse players more deeply and emotionally into a "contemplative exploration" of some of life’s deeper meanings.

Unleaving is due to launch on Steam for Windows PC on March 27th. But while you wait, a playable demo of this head-spinning, jaw-dropping "arthouse experience" is available until the end of the Steam Next Fest on February 12th (and perhaps beyond, but no guarantees). 

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