Everybody's Gone to the Rapture 4K gallery: a walk in the woods

Pixel Boost is our weekly series devoted to the artistry of games, and the techniques required to run them at high resolutions. Gallery by screenshot artist Mary K.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is a beautiful and intriguing world to discover, but the snail's pace of walking makes that exploration tedious.

One interesting effect used is the rapidly sped-up time as you enter a new scene, animated here. Another: memories being highlighted from a night-time backdrop as you "live through" the scene.

In Rapture, the player has the responsibility to break into the memorable scenes and experiences from previous inhabitants to uncover their world. At this point, some of the scenery's elements start to naturally highlight and transform. Here the developer, Chinese Room, redefines and exposes the shade between a lost world and a world which was simply caught frozen in an everlasting instant.

Rapidly then, a noteworthy thing appears: the phenomenon responsible of recent events is unknown, described at best as liquid light flowing from another world. At the same time you start learning to fear those sparks and beams of light - just as a squirrel learns to beware of Men. What is simultaneously a threat and a splendor grow in your mind, fed by sightings and inhabitants' testimony. The ghosts of villagers shall reenact their last conversation, mentioning how it affected their health and deeply overwhelmed the whole community.

Soon those feelings shall melt with powerful grace, with a great impression of peacefulness. It’s an outstanding achievement from Chinese Room. Such a juxtaposition is rare in video games, as a deeply surreal phenomenon which strictly eludes any attempt of rational break-down.