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Ruah: Breezy Walking Simulator Released Free

Free as the breeze

Ruah's [official site] idea of drifting around a low-poly landscape as a breeze, gathering deer and making flowers come alive, sounded fab last July. It's finally out, though not quite what I'd expected or even what the developers wanted, they concede. But it's a free, short, and pretty blowing simulator with an enjoyable few minutes of wandering and gawping, and you might like it.

Ruah has ended up a bit like a linear, less playful take on Ed Key's Proteus [Ed is a chum: this weekend we swam beneath a waterfall together], moving through the seasons and into death. It's pleasant, but I suppose I'd hoped for more lively interaction with Ruah's flora and fauna.

The game's been done for a while, team member Tristan Dahl said in a post on the TIGSource forums, but "it didn't turn out as good as we hoped it would" and "maybe we were also a little embarrassed". He says:

"It was made at a game's school here in Berlin, meaning none of us were/are particularly experienced. Although we kept the scope small we still underestimated the amount of time required to polish a game. If we'd continued to work at the pace we'd set in the first two months we would have had a much better game in the end. However, we placed far too much work on the shoulders on our only programmer (who also did the tech art). And when his motivation sagged in the final weeks, none of us were technically competent enough to finish the game without him.

"Failing to do the game justice was a great learning experience that I am thankful for to be honest. With better communication and proper project management we could of made something a bit more special, but now I know how to things better next time"

Still, it's pleasant to look at and listen to. Give it a crack. Here's an old trailer from last year:

Cover image for YouTube video

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Alice O'Connor avatar

Alice O'Connor

Associate Editor

Alice has been playing video games since SkiFree and writing about them since 2009, with nine years at RPS. She enjoys immersive sims, roguelikelikes, chunky revolvers, weird little spooky indies, mods, walking simulators, and finding joy in details. Alice lives, swims, and cycles in Scotland.

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