Sci-fi sleuth sim Tacoma adds dev's voices to the void
Cat pictures.... in SPAAAACE!
Us PC-using folk are really reaping the rewards of this generation of consoles being so indie-friendly. Not only are more great games being made in general, but developers tend to add extra features to later console ports which frequently find their way back home. The Fullbright Company's excellent Tacoma is the latest to walk this road, and is set to add an interactive developer commentary track in a free update next month.
Given that Tacoma was already a game about wandering relatively inert environments and looking for audio-log data points to assemble a narrative breadcrumb trail from, it's not surprising that Fullbright have gone a little further than standard for their commentary mode, as highlighted in the adorably fuzzy clip below.
Here's a preview of the kind of Good Content you'll discover in Commentary Mode lol. ??? See y'all on May 8!!!! pic.twitter.com/NlEAc23AtC
— Steve Gaynor *slams a Dew* hell yeah (@fullbright) April 24, 2018
Touch the commentary node, and you'll be presented with a gallery of cats as additional material, allowing you to compare the mentioned items in the room to their original feline models. Presumably other areas of the game will contain fewer cats, which is sad, but I'm sure Fullbright have some interesting stories and insights to share in lieu of pet photos.
If nothing else, this seems like a fine excuse to take another stroll through Tacoma station, rifle through everyone's personal belongings and actually find out the quirky little stories that led to their addition. While some developer commentary tracks run the risk of being dry and impersonal, the clip goes a long way to assuage those fears, with the development team casually chatting and cracking jokes along the way, as all good commentary tracks should.
Still, I've yet to see a game commentary track that makes me giggle even halfway as consistently as Taika Waititi's consistently funny rambling over Thor: Ragnarok. If you happen to know any games that really go above and beyond and make their developer commentary a true must-hear, please do share. The commentary update should be rolling out alongside the PS4 release of Tacoma on May 8th, and the game can be snagged on GOG and Steam for £15/$20.