This romantic adventure game looks like Firewatch in northern England
Uncover mysteries with your walkie-talkie and a metal detector
"Romantic metal detecting adventure" isn't a group of words I'd have expected to write today, but it turns out romance is always possible with a bit of history and mystery. The Magnificent Trufflepigs is an upcoming adventure in northern England in which main character Adam digs up some buried mysteries on an old farm while talking to his pal Beth. If you recognise the voice, that sure is Arthur Darvill who you may remember as Rory of Doctor Who fame.
In classic romantic dramedy fashion, Beth is just about to become a high-powered CEO who's nearly ready to check off all those popular life milestones of kids and career. She's made a return visit to the countryside, as one does, where she'll dig up some local mysteries with her old pal Adam. That's you, the one with the metal detector.
Thunkd say that you'll spend time exploring the old farm as Adam, digging up old junk while you send photos of your finds over to Beth. Chatting with her over walkie-talkie and text message is how you'll get to know her and uncover what old secrets are afoot.
The teaser trailer up above lets on that things get a bit more mysterious when the police get involved in whatever Adam and Beth have wound up getting into.
I do quite like a good walkie adventure, especially ones with decent voice talent. Firewatch comes to mind, as does Soma. Thunkd say that Arthur Darvill as Adam is joined by Luci Fish as Beth. It does take a couple good actors to sell a walkie romance, and the trailer makes me think they've got it in them.
New studio Thunkd was founded by Everyone's Gone To The Rapture lead designer Andrew Crawshaw. The studio say they want to become "synonymous with high-quality, short-form, 'evening-sized' games and experiences." That's your clue on the kind of play time you can expect from the Trufflepigs.
The Magnificent Trufflepigs is planned to launch early this summer. You can find it over on Steam to wishlist until then. It will also be available on the Nintendo Switch.