Playmind Studio announced that their psychological thriller, InnerFriend, is set to launch later this year for the PC, PS4 and Xbox One. The game will be demoed at this year’s PAX East, where gamers will be able to experience a world of nightmares where they attempt to a save a child from the machinated horrors of his mind.
Playmind released a 45 second trailer, showcasing some of the gameplay and cinematics, which features a fragmented avatar of a young boy running through some equally fragmented scenarios. We see the hallway of a school, a parking lot that doubles as some sort of swimming pool, and a giant warehouse that looks like it might be some sort of medical facility or orphanage. An ambient synth track plays while glimpses of the different stages are splashes across the screen.
According to the press release, The InnerFriend will take players through a journey of abstract worlds and subconscious nightmares.
The Montreal-based studio wants the game to be heavily narrative based and centered around surrealist concepts coined by philosophical psychologist, Carl Jung.
They also plan on sprucing up some of the horror aspects by including themes and presentations reminiscent of horror movies from the 1980s, along with Stanley Kubrick’s work.
The game is apparently about discovering the root causes of trauma and developing coping mechanisms. However, the press release doesn’t really seem to say anything about the actual gameplay.
According to Emmanuel Sévigny, founder of Playmind, this is a project about facing fears and exploring nightmares…
“The idea for The InnerFriend has been in my head for decades now so I’m thrilled to see it finally coming to life,”
“Although we’ve all had very different pasts and childhoods, our experiences — particularly our fears and nightmares — are actually quite similar in a way. I’m eager to see how The InnerFriend will resonate with people from different backgrounds once they finally get a chance to check out the game for themselves.”
It’s a little hard to get excited when the only gameplay elements sound as if they’re little more than just moving the boy around and watching everything else play out for you. Essentially, it’s more walking sim than adventure game. However, if you have to be in the Boston area this weekend to attend PAX West, you can check out the game for yourself ahead of its launch later this year for home consoles and PC.
