Tribeca Games Spotlight 2023: Overview

The show kicked off with a look at A Highland Song, a narrative adventure game, developed and published by UK-based studio inkle Ltd, where you play as Moira Mckinnon who is on her way to see the sea for the first time. This is the studio’s first platforming game, a design decision that made perfect sense, considering the character is jumping, hopping, and scaling the peaks and various dangers of the Scottish Highlands. The developers also expressed their love for hand-painted art, influencing A Highland Song’s hand-drawn animation and the impressionistic aesthetics that you’ll see in the game. 

A Highland Song will be available to play on PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch. You can add it to your wishlist now!

Showcased at the Tribeca Games Spotlight 2023, Goodbye Volcano High is a hybrid cinematic story-rich rhythm-based game developed and published by KO_OP, an artist-run game studio based in Montreal. Coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam, Goodbye Volcano High is the end of an era and the beginning of a love story. You’ll guide Fang, a dinosaur, through their final year of high school — making new friends, playing songs you wrote for your band, and finally telling that special person how you really feel. 

The developers wanted to tap into the anxiety of our current times, diving deep into the emotional aspects of “the end of the world,” which is best conveyed by the end of high school — a feeling we can all relate to! If you’re interested, you can wishlist the game today. Goodbye Volcano High is set to release on the 29th of August 2023. 

We got an in-depth look at Chants of Sennaar, an action-adventure puzzler set in a fascinating universe inspired by the myth of Babel where you’ll decipher ancient languages to restore the connections between the Peoples of the Tower. Players will interact with several characters, solve puzzles, and play through action and stealth sequences. The hero, in this case, is not a warrior. Instead, they act as a translator, diplomat, and sometimes as a scientist. Ultimately, Chants of Sennaar is a game about tolerance and openness, encouraging you to solve obstacles without violence. 

Chants of Sennaar is coming to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam on the 5th of September 2023. 

If you’ve ever spent your nights tracing the stars in the sky, Nightscape from Mezan Studios might be right up your alley. Featured at the Tribeca Games Spotlight 2023, Nightscape is an atmospheric 2.5D puzzle adventure game, in which you play Layla — an astronomer who loves to look at the night sky. 

In the showcase, we get to see Layla wielding a magical astrolabe, restoring stars back to constellations in order to seek a path home. Mezan Studios was especially inspired by ancient Arabian astronomy, incorporating those elements into the game’s puzzles and awe-inspiring environments. Melodic Middle Eastern harmonies also influence the music you hear throughout the game. 

Nightscape is coming soon. Stay tuned for more information! 

Developed by Summerfall Studios and published by Humble Games, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical’s launch is drawing near, and the Tribeca Games Spotlight showcased more of its characters, story, and design inspiration. This interactive roleplaying musical is sure to be a unique experience, innovating how we steer a story in choice-driven narratives by letting us make dialogue/lyric choices during the songs, changing the music and direction the song goes in. The well-crafted, eye-catching art style also deserves recognition, as it evokes a dark comic book-style aesthetic with detailed character design.

Featuring music directed by award-winning composer Austin Wintory and a narrative crafted by the stellar lead writer of Dragon Age, David Gaider, Stray Gods: The Roleplay Musical boasts a stacked cast, including Laura Bailey, Troy Baker, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Ashley Johnson, Felicia Day, and many more! Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical will launch on the 3rd of August 2023 for PC via Steam. Excited to go on a journey full of gods, magic, and murder? You can wishlist the game now on its Steam page. 

Telltale Games and Deck Nine Games revealed more about their process, making The Expanse: A Telltale Series, an upcoming story-rich adventure game that serves as a prequel to the hit television series The Expanse. We get to see the world through Camina Drummer’s eyes, who gives us a unique perspective on the world of The Expanse as she scavenges ships in the outer regions of the Belt. Reprising her role, Cara Gee also talked about how she wants to portray Camina as more open and vulnerable, especially at the beginning of the videogame. 

You can wishlist the game now! The Expanse: A Telltale Series is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Ending the Tribeca Games Spotlight is Despelote, a 3D slice-of-life adventure game about soccer, featuring 2D hand-drawn animation. Set in 2001, you play through the eyes of an eight-year-old kid, kicking around a ball with your friends in the park. As it was being developed, the team focused on your relationship to the ball first, which then extends to how you experience the environment around you. The spotlight also shined on the hand-drawn grainy aesthetic, which brings Quito to life in a way that feels truly authentic to the developers. 

Despelote is coming soon! You can learn more at the game’s official website. 

We hope that you enjoyed this overview for the Tribeca Games Spotlight 2023! What games are you looking forward to most? Let us know on Discord, Twitter, and Facebook!