Although players can look forward to the upcoming Life is Strange Remastered Collection which features remastered versions of Life is Strange and the prequel, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, there is still no telling when players will be graced with a new Life is Strange story. For those eager for a narrative-heavy game that brings all the nostalgia that Life is Strange does, it is worth keeping an eye on Goodbye Volcano High.
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Get Ready for Volcano High School
Goodbye Volcano High is an upcoming game developed by KO_OP, which is a studio based in Montreal. Gamers got their first glimpse of it during Sony’s Future of Gaming event in 2020. It was scheduled for a 2021 release but, like many other games, it has faced delays and is now slated for a 2022 release.
Goodbye Volcano High is set in a world populated by anthropomorphic dinosaurs. The game focuses on a group of dinosaurs who are in their last year of high school. As they sit on the edge of adulthood, they must decide who they are and what they should do with their lives. The game looks gorgeous thanks to the hand-painted backgrounds filled with vibrant colors. On PS5, the game will make good use of the DualSense controller. By taking advantage of the controller’s haptic feedback, players will be able to feel the pressure in their hands as they make choices.
Goodbye Volcano Has Many Life is Strange Elements
In Life is Strange games, players are often faced with choices that will affect the game’s narrative. Some of the choices presented to players can be nail-biting because it is not always obvious how choices made in the present will affect the future. Putting forward these choices that test the player’s morality creates some very tense moments. It also makes replays of the games interesting, because players can choose to follow a different narrative branch by making different choices.
It seems that Goodbye Volcano High will be making use of player agency in a similar manner. According to KO-OP, Goodbye Volcano High is a cinematic, choice-based game. The protagonist is a non-binary dinosaur named Fang. In their final year of school, they must choose whether they want to play it safe or to dare to take risks. The studio wants “playing Goodbye Volcano High to bring you the satisfaction of binging your favorite TV shows. But, unlike with TV, you’ll have the power and the emotion in your hands as you guide our characters through a branching narrative.” Goodbye Volcano High will be focused on choices rather than intense, button-mashing gameplay. For fans of Life is Strange, this is perfect.
Life is Strange games have a knack for crafting scenarios that are relatable to a lot of players. In the first game, Max Caulfield’s time in Blackwell Academy reminds many players of the emotional tumultuousness of adolescence and the painful awkwardness of high school. Whether Max is putting her neck on the line for a friend or is too afraid to act when she sees injustice, much of what she goes through will be familiar to a lot of players.
Goodbye Volcano High seems ready to evoke strong emotions through presenting relatable scenarios, even if they are played out by dinosaurs. The game features a group of teens who are unsure of what comes next in their lives. The studio hopes the story will resonate with players who are “feeling a little lost and scared, and not sure what happens next.”
Released screenshots and trailers of Goodbye Volcano High illustrate that it will be a gorgeous, colorful game, although the inclusion of dinosaurs suggests it might have a quirkier side to it. For fans of games with a heavy focus on narrative, Goodbye Volcano High may be the game that scratches that itch.
Goodbye Volcano High is scheduled to release in 2022 for PC, PS4, and PS5.
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