We recently became backers for the beautiful-looking Monochroma, a puzzle-platformer by Nowhere Studios set in a black-and-white alternative universe. With nine days left to go on their Kickstarter clock and around $25,000 still left to raise, the developers need your help to see their atmospheric project succeed.
I was attracted to Monochroma after Nowhere Studios described it as ‘a deeply visual, intellectual and emotional experience’ and a sort of cross between Limbo and Ico. These are still two of the most moving titles despite now being several years old, and looking the gameplay video featured in our previous article it’s clear to see where the project takes inspiration from. It seems as if a lot of other people agree with me, including over a thousand backers and co-founder of thatgamecompany Kellee Santiago: “I can’t wait to get lost in the shadows and the rain of Monochroma.”
Just to recap, this title tells the story of a boy and his brother. One day they witness something awful: a crime committed by a massive corporation that makes their money from building and selling robots to the city dwellers. Alone in the rain, the two siblings must survive around six hours of devilishly-clever puzzles in order to save their world from tyranny.
Why watch TV when you can play video games like Monochroma?
Gameplay takes place over four chapters, each being around ninety minutes long: Outskirts, Ghetto, Factory and Zeppelin. Players take on the role of the elder boy and early on your little brother injures his leg, meaning you must carry him on your back to continue further as you can’t leave him behind. You must put your brother down temporarily in order to solve most of the puzzles but you can only do this where it’s bright because he’s afraid of the dark.
Nowhere Studios recently revealed more about the second chapter with an excerpt from their Game Design Document: “The only thing known about the world is the city where the story takes place. The city is comprised of skyward buildings, vertically interconnected. Ghetto and a large robot factory live within these ghettoes. The city becomes richer as it rises but the upper levels of the city are not seen from below due to spoke fumes from the giant factory. Zeppelin of the factory owner, which reminds of a flying castle, is hovering as it watches the whole city. Industrialisation has almost completely destroyed all the vegetation.” A glimpse of it can be seen at the end of the teaser below:
With just over a week to go and around 30% of the funding goal left to raise, Nowhere Studios still have a fair way to go but it’s achievable. How could anyone fail to fall in love with Monochroma after seeing the gorgeous artwork and playing the demo? Take a look at the Kickstarter page and be sure to head over to Steam Greenlight to give the game a thumbs-up – you’re bound to want to help the brothers on their adventure.
