Old Man's Journey was announced last summer, describing itself as "a game about life, loss, and hope." A press release for last year's IndieCade Europe expanded on that a bit: "[It's] a slow-paced puzzle adventure in which players shape the landscape to guide an old man on his last big journey through a gorgeously illustrated world to find reconciliation with his family." More recently—as in, a couple of days ago—developer Broken Rules released a trailer demonstrating a little bit of how it will actually play. And even with that, I'm still not entirely sure what it's all about. But it sure does look lovely.
"Old Man’s Journey is a soul-searching puzzle adventure game," the YouTube description states. "Entrenched in a beautifully handcrafted world, players will embark on a heartfelt journey interwoven with playful puzzles."
You can see the landscape being raised and lowered to open up new paths for the old man to walk along, and also to affect the environment: Near the end of the trailer, a rock (or whatever it is) rolls down a hill to smash an entrance through a stone wall. There's also an apparent hint of the promised "playful puzzles," when the old man comes upon a pair of youngsters sitting on a roof.
One more vague, and vaguely melancholy, description of the game, this one from oldmansjourney.com: "Wander sun-drenched, rolling hills. Cast shackles off your memories. A final chance to seek amends and find your heart, once lost at sea." I can't say for sure that it's a game I want to play, but it's definitely one I want to know more about. Old Man's Journey is expected to come out sometime this year.
