And Yet It Flies: Chasing Aurora Looks Gorgeous

Oh goodness. Chasing Aurora, the latest from And Yet It Moves developer Broken Rules, looks like it's really shaping up to be something special. It's being billed as an "explorative 2D aerial action game about the dream of flight" in the "hostile environment of the Alps." This mood teaser, though, demonstrates hostility on par with that of a kitten herd in a warm pillow and sunlight beam factory. It's downright serene, but in a gloriously mesmerizing fashion. I think I've watched the all-too-brief trailer five or so times now, just to soak up all the little details of the wind's undulating whistle and the music's instrumental peaks and valleys in relation to the avian main character's traversal of actual peaks and valleys. That screenshot doesn't do this one justice. See it in oddly absorbing, physics-powered motion after the break.

There's apparently a multiplayer mode as well, but Broken Rules is keeping that heavily under wraps for now. An admittedly very early video, however, makes it seem pretty competitive. Regardless, this looks like something I could find myself sinking blissfully stress-free hours into. The sense of scale - accentuated by the camera's meticulously timed zooms in and out - made me say "Gee whiz golly willikers" even on repeat viewings, which is weird, because no one actually talks like that. It's set to launch sometime in 2012, but I want it nooooooow.