Variable State’s incoming neo-noir detective adventure Virginia tells a tale of love, loss and mystery without any of its characters uttering a word. Instead, its narrative unfolds by way of actions and encounters—the latest trailer of which features a series of scenes which haven't been shown before.
“I’d say we perhaps leaned a little heavily on the Twin Peaks references in our demo,” Virginia’s creative director Jonathan Burroughs told Samuel in an interview at the start of last year, before admitting while he and his team “inherited some of the premise” of the TV show, they hope to avoid parody or pastiche. The following trailer does echo David Lynch's seminal television show, however there’s also X-Files and True Detective vibes in there too.
“Virginia’s cinematic inspirations extend to its genre-bending story,” reads a coinciding statement from publisher 505 Games. “Virginia’s drama evokes the ambiguous storytelling of David Lynch, the unforgettable characters of Silence of the Lambs and the striking art direction of Dario Argento.
“[It] rides a wave of renewed interest in science fiction and horror shows of the 1990s, sitting amongst recently-returned classics such as Twin Peaks and The X-Files and enthusiastically-received new arrivals such as the critically acclaimed Stranger Things.”
Which is a pretty inspirational list of influences. “Know who to trust,” advises the trailer towards its end. Against its lineage and broad host of characters, that might be easier said than done.
Virginia is due September 22. If you'd like to try the free demo, it's located on its Steam page.
