Storm in a Teacup, known for titles such as Lantern, N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure, and ENKI, fully revealed its fourth title today prior to Gamescom: Close to the Sun. The title is a story-driven first person horror game set on a ship designed by Nikola Tesla at the turn of the 20th Century.
Close to the Sun is being developed in Unreal Engine 4, and will be playable this week at Gamescom at the Italian Trade Stand Booth (A012/A013/B014). In Close to the Sun, players control a girl named Rose who is a journalist looking for her younger sister. Her sleuthing leads her to a giant ship complex that was designed by Nikola Tesla for “the sake of science”. Unfortunately, once players arrive there, they find things have gone horribly wrong.
The game’s announcement trailer is pretty chilling, as it shows off many of Close to the Sun’s dark and dreary environment, followed by some shots of creepy injuries and some weird looking monsters chasing after Rose. Carlo Ivo Alimo Bianchi, Founder and Creative Director of Storm in a Teacup (which he abbreviates as STC), had the following to say about Close to the Sun and its visual inspiration:
“This project is crucial for STC. After the first three games, we came back bigger and stronger than ever. We want to tell you stories, and this time we’re going to tell you about a man who dared to defy the Sun, between horror and survival. As always, we aim for a peculiar art style which is STC’s trademark. In building the ship, we’ve been inspired by art deco, art nouveau and steampunk, since visuals for us is as important as the experience itself. Our challenges vary throughout the game but are all built around the general themes of survival and progress towards a promised salvation. Expressed more simply, our challenges generally come down to: there are many ways to die, but only one way to escape.”
You can check out the chilling announcement trailer below. Close to the Sun is set to release on PC and some still undetermined consoles in 2018.