Looking Fly: Secrets Of Raetikon Is Gorgeous

I am deathly afraid of heights, yet I desperately long to fly high above the clouds, unrestrained by any sort of machinery or the laws of physics. This is the complex duality of my nature. If I was actually granted the power of flight, I'd be the worst superhero ever - too busy screaming until I vomited a lung on confused bystanders to save anybody. But I digress. Secrets of Raetikon might just allow me to fulfill my fantasy without the disgusting particulars of reality getting in the way. It's about gentle, feather-like swooping and soaring, and it hails from And Yet It Moves developer Broken Rules. In it, nature and ancient machinery and peaceful exploration collide. It looks delightful.

It is, of course, not so secret that Broken Rules' previous tree-hugging sky smoocher Chasing Aurora ended up becoming a Wii U exclusive. But since no one actually makes games for Nintendo's confused consolebox anymore, Secrets of Raetikon is PC-only. Here's what it's about:

"Secrets of Raetikon is a game where players fly like birds. They explore a beautiful rugged alpine landscape populated by wild animals. To progress through the game, players reactivate ancient machinery. It is a physical puzzle game as much as an exploration game. Secrets of Raetikon is a game for anyone who has ever dreamed of flying."

Apparently there'll also be "emergent" interactions with many forms of wildlife, varied environments and animal lairs, and plenty of room for exploration. You can also choose to either play peacefully or engage in combat. Hooray, options!

I very much like the look of it, though I do worry that it could just be a gussied up version of Chasing Aurora beating desperate wings into PC territory because of Wii U's less-than-hospitable climate for, you know, making money. But then, Chasing Aurora wasn't particularly content-rich, and Secrets of Raetikon sounds much more like a full realization of Aurora's original (and far more promising) concept than what eventually made it to Wii U. Assuming Broken Rules delivers, I can definitely get behind that. It really does sound magnificent.

Secrets of Raetikon will be out sometime this year. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have to go practice keeping my lungs inside my torso while more than a couple meters off the ground.