If there's one thing I've taken away from Wanderstop's trailer during The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, it's that the development seems to have been massively cathartic for creative director Davey Wreden.
The brain behind both The Stanley Parable and The Beginner's Guide admitted the creation of those games left him "unbelievably burned out," which led to his desire to make a cosy game his next venture: "Something simple and peaceful that could heal me and restore balance to my life."
Turns out that wasn't quite so simple, as these things rarely are, and Wreden admits he found himself in that all-too-familiar stress zone. "So very slowly, piece by piece, I began taking elements of my burnout and my feelings of hopelessness and I just put them right into the game's narrative."
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As a result, Wanderstop is less the all-encompassing fuzzy feelings you usually find in similar games, and instead the tale of a broken woman enveloped in an environment that just may well heal her. Protagonist Alta is a former tournament fighter turned tea master, running a shop and brewing some comforting cups for the customers who visit. Wreden explains that Alta is a little unlike your usual cosy protagonists in that she doesn't really want to be there initially, though I suspect that may change as the teahouse's patrons and surrounding townsfolk are bound to soften her up as time goes on.
Wanderstop seems to be just as much about Wreden's healing journey as it is about Alta's: "Healing is messy, and it is bitter, and I want to know how to do it," he said during the trailer. "I want to believe it's possible to leave your old self behind and become someone new. Someone better than I am. Someone more capable of rest and calm and inner peace. But god, it's so, so hard to do."
It's all a rather emotional message, and I can sense just how much of Wreden's personal anxieties have been poured into creating Wanderstop from the two-minute trailer alone. What was originally intended to be an escape from burnout has become an entire narrative about it, one I'm sure anyone in any vaguely creative sector will feel to their core.
It feels like a game coming straight from the heart, and I can't wait to dive in. I already didn't need much convincing as a cosy game sicko who loves a good teahouse or cafe backdrop, but throwing in Wreden's exploration of creative burnout on top of all that has sealed this game as something I think will be truly special.
Wanderstop is set to release in March 2025, and you can wishlist the game on Steam right now.
