The Stillness of the Wind promises existential dread and goats
Got your goat
Our boy Samuel went and exiled himself to a remote, virtual goat-farm last year. He came back with some nice things to say about free farming experience Where the Goats Are. Now, imposingly named solo developer Memory of God is returning for an encore performance with The Stillness of the Wind, an expanded commercial follow-up which looks quiet, charming and stuffed to bursting with potential for emotional devastation.
Billing itself as 'a quiet game of life and loss', The Stillness of the Wind puts you in the well-worn and dusty shoes of Talma, an old woman living by herself on a small goat farm, out on the periphery of civilization. Your goal is just to live your life. Tend to the crops, milk the goats, make cheese and scare off birds if they're getting too troublesome.
You'll also now and then see folks from outside, like your local postman who brings you letters from your distant family as they try to find their footing in the big city. You'll get to haggle with passers-by for resources, trading delicious goats cheese for day to day essentials. It would all be rather cheerful and relaxing were it not for the trailer's promise of a story of loss just waiting in the wings, and talk of 'increasingly disturbing letters' arriving from the city.
Also, I know it's standard farmer's equipment, but I can't help but feel Chekhov's Gun being invoked by that shotgun propped lazily up against the wall, as seen in the trailer. You put a gun in a game like this, and I'll be surprised if nothing bad comes of it.
There's no release date or price tag set for The Stillness of the Wind yet, although the game is already signed to be published by Surprise Attack Games, and will be released for both Mac & Windows PCs via Steam and Itch.io later this year.