The German studio behind the excellent point-and-click adventure Unforeseen Incidents puts out a call for funding to finish We Stay Behind.
If you’re into point and click adventures, you may have already stumbled across Unforeseen Incidents from 2018, the debut game from German indie studio Backwoods. It was an absolute treat, mixing stylish line-drawn art with elegant puzzles and a healthy sense of humour. Now, Backwoods has put out a call for funding to finish its long-awaited second game.
We Stay Behind has been in the works since 2019, when it was originally called Resort. The premise is that a comet is due to hit the picturesque town of Laburnum Creek, but a few of the residents refuse to be evacuated. As the writer Laura Turner, your job is to interview the residents to find out why they have decided to stay.
The developers have cited Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive as key influences for the game, promising plenty of David Lynch-style surrealism. But they have also been inspired by the “off-kilter attitude” of the Coen brothers’ noir thriller Fargo (and, presumably, the more recent spin-off TV series), as well as the “rich story worlds” of Firewatch and Oxenfree. Graphically, We Stay Behind represents a departure from the 2D artwork of Unforeseen Incidents with a transition to full 3D – and part of the reason for its lengthy gestation is that Backwoods switched to Unreal Engine 5 part way through its development.
The developers say they have so far managed to fund development through public funding and sales of Unforeseen Incidents, but they’re calling for 25,000 euros to see the game over the line, with development planned to conclude later this year. Since the Kickstarter campaign launched yesterday, they’re already more than halfway towards that goal.
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