Rhythmic hiking game from the makers of 80 Days will launch next month
A Highland Song coming December 5th
A Highland Song, Inkle's Scottish rhythm mountain climbing game, now has a release date of December 5th. I'm Scottish, I spent my childhood walking up mountains, and I'm a long-time fan of Inkle, so it's kind of them to make this game specifically for me. Hop below for a new trailer, too.
I'm curious how A Highland Song's systems hang together. You play as Moira McKinnon, a young girl running away across mountains. As you travel you can skip and jump in time to music, and also find different routes by scaing different peaks or spelunking different caves. Inkle say that the narrative is "not branching but weaving", with different pieces of story discovered depending on where you go.
There are also survival mechanics, where wind, rain, cold and hunger "are your enemies". I'm personally more interested in there being a "sit down" button on the UI, though.
Katharine spent 30 minutes with A Highland Song at GDC earlier this year, calling it a combination of the best bits of Heaven's Vault and Pendragon, and a music Death Stranding.
Generally, though, the act of clambering around this slice of countryside is just pure joy from start to finish. With only a handful of markers noting specific shortcuts or bridges to the next peak, it really does feel like you're picking your way through the mountains, finding your own path and engaging with the obstacles around you on their own terms. Moira may not have a baby in a jar strapped to the front of her chest, but for my money this is easily the closest a game has come to recapturing Death Standing's detailed obsession with all things perambulatory in the intervening years.
I look forward to reliving my childhood on December 5th.
Disclosure: Natalie Clayton, formerly of this parish, is a level designer at Inkle.