I don't feel like I need to work very hard to explain the appeal of KeyWe, a game where you control kiwi birds at a remote post office. As I've established, if your game stars a bird I'm already interested, and mail birds? Double-sold.
In KeyWe, the kiwi birds are named Jeff and Debra (adorable!) and they've got a pretty tough job, running an entire post office by themselves. That job makes KeyWe a bit of a puzzle game, if you'd call Overcooked! a puzzle game—controlling the birds you have to hop around the post office, assembling word scraps into letters to mail out. This seems to escalate quickly, with complex word conveyor belts, storms, mosquito attacks, and a haunting. New Zealand seems weird.
"Our little heroes are going to face new challenges every level, and in every room of the post office, whether they're typing telegrams, or packaging shipping crates, or helping an octopus sort the mail—it's all in a day's work for Jeff and Debra," says developer Joel in KeyWe's segment during the E3 Future Games Show.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea of a post office that employs both kiwis and an octopus, but it looks like a joyous place. And Joel ends with a strong closer: "You can dress up your kiwis." I will, Joel. I will.
As you may have gathered, KeyWe is a co-op game, so you'll want to find a Jeff to your Debra before the game comes out on August 31. You can learn more about it on Steam.
