Tequila Works opens in Stadia with a beautiful horror adventure that explores bullying.
Bullying is the great horror story for many children. Invisibilized for years, it is currently a problem that, after receiving a name and surname, it is easier to identify and combat. It is not surprising that it is the main theme of several works of fiction where infants are protagonists; In our midst, we received last October Concrete Genie, an exploration adventure that claims creativity as the refuge of a sad everyday life.
Tequila Works, a Spanish study of other works such as The Sexy Brutale, where we were investigating murders in a mansion; and the poetic RIME, launches next November 19 GYLT, with which it opens in Stadia, the video service of Google. David Canela, creative director of this exploration and stealth adventure, sums up his new release "as if RIME merged with Stephen King." In FreeGameTips we have come to your presentation, where members of the study have delved into aspects of the game, which we have tested first hand.
The lucid nightmare of bullying
Gylt's terror, called by Canela himself as “delicate terror” is not based on sudden scares – although from the study they assure us that we can get a start – and flees from blood and violent executions as an element of effect. Through the dark atmosphere and the imaginary nightmare, we enter the inner world of little Sally, who goes in search of her missing friend Emily while facing the fears of her psyche. Together with her, we experience her loneliness and helplessness before some monsters that roam a lonely city and devastated by an earthquake. This dimension serves, in turn, as an allegory of bullying, in which the monsters represent the fears aroused in the girl. Likewise, Canela says that they have decided to flee from morality and superficial reading that classifies the problem between villains and victims: “We do not want to indoctrinate or treat bullying in a paternalistic way, since it is an issue where there are no whites or blacks. The victim can become a stalker at any given time, and vice versa. ” To achieve its purpose of giving a deep and serious perspective, Tequila has consulted with psychologists specializing in bullying.
Sally is a vulnerable girl, who is caught in a perverted version of her city, where there are no adults to help her. Set in the 90s, we observe various references to the classics of Stephen King and the dark fantasy of Neil Gaiman. The places frequented by the girl (the school, the recreation room, etc.) are now dangerous scenarios populated by abominations, whose disturbing design recalls the creatures of Little Nightmares, made by a bruised childish imagination. His only salvation is his ingenuity and infiltration capacity, which will take advantage of the fragility inherent in his age to go unnoticed. The decision to make Gylt a stealth game is not trivial, since, in Canela's words, "we can't give a gun to a girl." However, Sally's intelligence will be her lifesaver. Thus, we will observe the movement pattern of the enemies to know when to move, we will explore the environment to look for hiding places, health inhalers and alternative routes and solve simple puzzles to open alternative paths. We will mislead the enemies by throwing cans to the place where we want to divert them, neutralize traps, prepare stealth attacks and more basic gender strategies. At one point in the game, Sally will find a flashlight – which we interpret as a symbol of her bravery -, with which she can better inspect the surroundings and glare at the monsters by lighting them, although the latter consumes batteries. Likewise, we can be surprised by the abominations, which will attack us and leave us with two options: direct combat – with a considerable disadvantage – or flight.
A good premiere at Stadia
With a very affordable stealth system even for the public with less showers in the genre, GYLT encourages exploration as a means of taking advantage of the environment in favor and solving puzzles, but at the same time, as an invitation to meet Sally through her mind. We will see compositions of mannequins that stage very identifiable moments of bullying, graffiti that recreate hurtful messages … And we will also find collectibles such as birds, mysterious orbs, paintings with memories of Emily or fragments of diary of various people. Little by little, we will be composing the story that involves girls and their partners, in a game where narrative evolution keeps us engaged in a search where our goal is out of reach when we are about to achieve it.
As for the controls, we have easily adapted to Stadia, since its command follows a mapping similar to that of domestic consoles. The location of the texts and the voices is excellent, and the soundtrack of Cris Velasco immerses us in a permanent restlessness. Fany Salcedo, Tequila Works programmer, has told us that the development in the new platform has been very comfortable thanks to the multitude of facilities that Google has put, so that the creative process has been very optimized, without worries about the limitations and without the need for overtime, of which the studio feels proud.
Gylt more than terror, has transmitted to us that feeling of sadness that oozes its history, the abandonment of a Sally who looks corroded and naked before the monsters of her own world. However, we will take your hand and accompany you on your trip, where you will discover your own strength.
