At the Future Games Show on March 25, indie developer GoldFire Studios revealed Arctic Awakening, an episodic, choice-driven narrative adventure set in the ice cold wilderness of the Arctic North.
In Arctic Awakening you play as Kai, a pilot whose plane crashes during a storm and leaves you stranded. Fortunately, you’re not alone as you have an AI drone named Alfie to keep you company as you work to survive and reunite with your lost co-pilot.
Arctic Awakening Revealed at Future Games Show
During the Future Games Show, a new game from GoldFire Studios set to release in 2022 was shown called Arctic Awakening. The game is about a pilot named Kai whose plane crashes in the Arctic North during a routine supply drop to a town in Alaska.
Playing as Kai, you’ll wake up after a plane crash to find that your co-pilot Donovan is missing, leaving you alone save for the AI drone named Alfie.
According to the game’s description on Steam, Alfie is a court-mandated therapy bot, and the announcement trailer teases a deeper emotional story to Arctic Awakening with the audio narration that plays in the background.
“It was supposed to be routine. A supply drop to an Alaskan town, auto-pilot on, guard down. You and Donovan were already planning post mission drinks when it happened. The storm. Half the plane disappeared in a flash. Donovan was gone, lost to the howling tempest,” the Steam description explains.
“Waking from the crash you find yourself alone, trapped in a frozen wilderness, your only companions a court-mandated therapy bot and temperatures that can cut a man to shreds. Hope for survival lies in finding your friend and maybe a way home. You are Kai, a pilot without a plan lost in the wilderness of the far north.
You’ll need your wits about you to brave the elements, find your co-pilot and get the hell out of Dodge. Along the way, you might just discover what it was that cut your plane clean in two… and what it is making those noises after dark.
Arctic Awakening is an episodic first-person adventure set in the mysterious Arctic North where you and your robotic companion, Alfie, must search for your co-pilot… and a way home.”
The press release that followed the game’s announcement as part of the Future Games Show also touches on some of the deeper subject matter underneath the surface layers of the game.
“Arctic Awakening is a story about friendship, survival, isolation and mental health, that first came to life when it became clear to the devs that climate change was going to have a dire impact on the planet.”
The game gives us major Hatchet by Gary Paulson vibes in the best possible way as it combines survival, exploration, and an emotional layer underneath the struggles that the main character faces during their time in the wilderness.
We’re looking forward to playing the game when it comes out. Currently, Arctic Awakening doesn’t have a set release date though it’s aiming for a release in 2022 for PC, Mac, and consoles.
You can wishlist the game on Steam right now, and follow both Arctic Awakening and GoldFire Studios on Twitter for updates.
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