A new PC game that reportedly takes its inspiration from Studio Ghibli productions gets a new trailer. Way to the Woods launches next year.
The unique adventure game features two unlikely protagonists, which are not the usual stereotypes featured in most video games of the same genre. Instead of humans or anthropomorphic creatures, the title relies on a deer and her fawn as they navigate through what looks like an abandoned city. The trailer also showcases an interaction with an NPC as well as some other game mechanics.
Much-Needed Help
The third-person adventure title is being developed by Anthony Tan, an 18-year-old independent developer who worked on the project for more than three years already. The game recently received support from Team17, a British video game developer that also crowdfunded indie projects such as Yooka-Laylee and Allison Road.
It seems that the game's publicity on Reddit caught the attention of the company. The game studio immediately contacted Tan along with two of his contributors Jeremy Warmsley and Jarad Baker.
"My creative director, one of the producers and one of our marketing people all reached out to me separately on the same day and massively pushed for the game," according to Debbie Bestwick, CEO of the Team17.
Development And Inspiration
Anthony Tan started work on Way to the Woods in 2015 at the age of 16. He credited Studio Ghibli masterpieces such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke as some of the title's influences. The developer likewise noted that games such as Journey and The Last of Us inspired the project.
IM BACK dudes!! check out some new screenshots of my game Way To The Woods!!! thanks pic.twitter.com/cwlpqgw16w — atan (@bogus_roxy) March 5, 2018
"There's still a lot of the game to make," said the developer. "I had to take a lot of time to explore the world I wanted to express, the type of tone and gameplay I could execute properly," he added.
The teaser trailer gives fans a peek at what they can expect from the adventure title. Based on the description given by Tan, gamers can expect the length of the game to be just around two to four hours. It seems somewhat short at first glance, but the fact that it was mostly created by one person somehow makes it understandable. It is currently unknown if the game length might change since it found a publisher
Other Games, Same influence
Another upcoming game that seems to have influences from Studio Ghibli is Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom. Moreover, the first installment of the franchise directly collaborated with the animation studio. It seems that the beloved animated features released by the company continue to spark the imagination of video game artists and producers.
Way to the Woods is expected to launch for the PC and consoles in early 2019. The one-minute trailer for the title is now available on YouTube.
