American Arcadia, A Retro-Futuristic Platformer, Revealed At Summer Game Fest

Indie developer Out of the Blue Games has debuted its newest game, American Arcadia, via a live announcement and trailer at Summer Game Fest.

The game is set in the utopian city of Arcadia, described as a "43 square mile metropolis where each and every citizen enjoys a life of luxury and comfort." But there’s one catch: Every last one of those citizens is being monitored 24/7 and broadcast live for the all world to see, and none of them are aware they're starring in the planet's most-watched reality television show. Even worse, citizens who become unpopular must run for their lives or face death.

"Sometimes a perfect life is nothing more than a perfect lie," reads the game's tagline.

The 2.5D platformer (which also has first-person elements) takes players on an adventurous escape through the eyes of two protagonists. The first is Trevor Hills, an Arcadian citizen who loses social capital and must move from place to place without being apprehended. Players must solve puzzles, make use of stealth elements to avoid being caught, and get through police interrogations, all with the help of a secondary protagonist, who is also playable.

This second protagonist--who appears to be female, but has yet to be named--is in a remote location, helping Trevor escape and giving him directions from a distance, a unique feature that allows players to actually play as the stereotypical invisible sidekick who helps the main character via radio or other long-distance communication methods, while usually remaining unseen for a large portion of the game.

But Trevor's mysterious helper is controlled entirely by the player via a first-person POV, and must also make use of stealth and puzzle-solving in addition to hacking various objects and exploring Arcadia to help Trevor escape through the reality show's various sets and behind-the-scenes areas.

The voice cast features Yuri Lowenthal (Prince of Persia remake, Marvel's Spider-Man 1 & 2), Krizia Bajos (Cyberpunk 2077, League of Legends), and Cissy Jones (Firewatch, Life is Strange)

American Arcadia does not yet have a specific release date, but is "coming soon to console and PC" according to its trailer and the American Arcadia website. While it is not yet available for pre-order, it can currently be added to Steam wishlists.

This story is developing.