This is a story about cats.
But first you need to know the basics of saltsea chronicles, the new game from Die Gute Fabrik is due out later this year on Switch, PS5 and PC. We’ve been following the studio for over 10 years, from the experimental PlayStation Move game Johann Sebastian Joust in 2012 to Mutationone of the best-written games of 2019. More akin to a creative collective, the studio tends to mix compassionate and human storytelling with bright colors and playfulness.
Salt Sea Chronicles isn’t just about cats, but I promise we’ll get there. The studio’s work defies some sort of elevator pitch, but let’s try it anyway: Star Trek via Kentucky Route Zero with the saturation at max.
Just like in Star Trek, you oversee a crew of unlikely allies as they travel to various islands. Each location has a unique population, along with a moral, philosophical, or dramatic dilemma that must be unraveled. You choose where the crew will and won’t travel, who will go ashore, what they say and what findings they will bring to those waiting on the ship – then set off for the next adventure. But the mood changes Kentucky Route ZeroGute Fabrik’s Mutationand their contemporaries who blur the lines between games, theater and literature.
In theory, all these rambunctious things should be the most interesting thing about the game, and I should dive deeper into the many mechanics. But in practice toxoplasmosis. Like a tabby cat on catnip in a room full of scratching posts, I got distracted halfway through my demo by a certain island and its furry population.
Image: Die Gute Fabrik
The island of Los Gatos is full of people And cats. Lots of cats. The game’s beautiful art direction borrows from cut paper And vector graphics, so the cats aren’t represented by specific breeds, but by prong-eared, squiggly tail blobs. They are cute.
Cats take a nap on the beach, gather at doors, perch on railway tracks and nest in window sills. The world itself is shaped in their image, like a mountain with a feline silhouette and a residential area stacked like a scratching post. Within one structure, humans and cats keep warm near a huge stove in the shape of a gaping cat’s head. And everything is covered in soft, plush fabric.
The initial appeal of Salt Sea Chronicles, like so many cozy games, is the atmosphere. Die Gute Fabrik has put a lot of effort into the way cats swat at butterflies and coyly curl their tails. Objectives (little dots hovering over certain people and places) will lead you to the narrative critical bits, but they’re just one of many things you can do. You can try to solve local problems, although some of them are unsolvable. Or you can just collect stickers for your almanac. Anyway, people are resting around Los Gatos, waiting to chat, but who you strike up a conversation with is entirely up to you.
Image: Die Gute Fabrik
A visit to Los Gatos is not mission critical. Depending on the choices you make on your quest, you may never come across the coast. This is intentional – the creators have filled the game with so much story that, they hope, players will want to make the journey many times over.
Not only will you see different islands, but you can also take on different characters based on the different lenses through which you see them. You can choose the perspective of a mischievous child or a new caregiver who balances the adventure with raising a child. A team of creative and writing staff has played a vital role in giving meaning to the lives and journeys of each of these characters.
This is a theme that repeated throughout our hour of play: we get a fuller picture of the universe by including more points of view. For example, many islands have a similar deck, albeit with different house rules that reflect community perspectives. In one variation, if you get over 100 points, you lose – a nod to the post-hoarding mentality of the locals.
Yes, it becomes clear how in the opening moments Salt Sea Chroniclesstructure will replicate the typical Star Trek episode, and how the game will reflect a classic season. (Significantly, the game itself will have an option that encourages screen pauses between islands, similar to the pauses between episodes of a show.) But Los Gatos continues the creators’ comparison to Star Trek.
As I wandered from room to room of the cat-filled island, I learned the less obvious function of the communal houses: Los Gatos also serves as a sanctuary for victims of domestic violence. It’s a heavy layer that rests on the otherwise cozy string, and my teeth grit, afraid the two notes will collide. But instead, the opposite happens. The team at Die Gute Fabrik uses this fantastic world to help you with more challenging conversations.
This is a result of working with so many talented writers and the game’s own internal leisurely pace: subtlety is possible.
And thus Salt Sea Chronicles, seems to be the cuddliest game of the year for a while. Until it becomes much more. I look forward to visiting the many other islands when the game releases later this year, not only to see their beauty, but also to hear what their inhabitants have to say.
Image: Die Gute Fabrik