Kickstarter dawns for Sunset, new story-driven exploration from Tale of Tales

Written by Jack Allin — June 20, 2014 at 12:08

Tale of Tales are known for their artistic, genre-defying interactive experiences, and while that continues to be true of their next project, the Belgian team of Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn (Graveyard, The Path) are going a little more mainstream with Sunset, a new "narrative-driven first-person videogame" currently raising funds through Kickstarter.

Sunset takes place in the early 1970s, entirely within the confines of a "luxurious penthouse apartment against the backdrop of violent revolution in a fictional South American metropolis." Players assume the role of housekeeper Angela Burns, who returns to the "swanky bachelor pad of Gabriel Ortega" each day an hour just before sunset. You'll have your required duties to perform, but in between the "temptation to go through his stuff is irresistible. As you get to know your mysterious employer better, you are sucked into a rebellious plot against a notorious dictator Generalísimo Ricardo Miraflores."

As its premise suggests, Sunset is certainly not a traditional adventure, as this game will include no puzzles. Rather, it is a personal exploration of the emotional story behind the (usually) nameless victims of war. Players can influence Sunset's story in a variety of ways, whether "going through the owner's possessions in search of information for the revolutionaries... or simply making your presence felt in his life by changing his radio station or having your own fun interacting with his 1970s-era high-tech gadgets." You can also impact your relationship with Ortega, even in his absence, as "for each task in the apartment there is more than one way of performing it: a neutral way or a naughty, funny way or flirty way. Gabriel will respond through small notes and other actions. It is up to you to decide how intimate or antagonistic this relationship becomes."

In order to bring Sunset to PC, Mac, and Linux by March 2015, the developers turned to Kickstarter for $25,000 funding by July 17th. That clearly won't be a problem, as the target has already been surpassed, but backers can still reserve a downloadable copy of the game for a minimum pledge of $15, with additional perks offered at higher tiers. For complete details, visit the Kickstarter page to learn more.