Beautiful Desolation was announced all the way back in 2016 as the followup, but not sequel, to the excellent 2015 point-and-click horror adventure Stasis. A successful Kickstarter campaign followed in early 2017, and this week South African developer The Brotherhood announced that it will finally be released on February 26.
The new game is set in the far future, following events that uplifted humanity and then, as is the way of the universe, brought it crashing down hard. Beyond that, though, the developers aren't saying much about what's in store.
"Your surroundings hold echoes of a desolate past, and glimpses of a dark future that has yet to be written by your actions," the Steam listing says. "Be prepared to face many tough choices that will shape this land long after you complete your journey."
There may also be a spot of time travel involved, or possibly just some old photo albums: Following the event that devastated our world, "there was tragedy at home for Mark and Don Leslie, when an incident tore apart their brotherly bond in this dramatic story that spans the 1980s and beyond."
Mechanically, Beautiful Desolation will feature 2D isometric rendered environments, puzzles, "classic adventure gameplay," and a "unique tribal punk" world filled with bizarre creatures, animals and vibrant characters. It will also feature music by Mick Gordon, the composer on other games you may have heard of such Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, Borderlands 3, and the upcoming Doom Eternal, among many others.
Stasis was really good—it didn't get too much mainstream attention (point-and-click is a tough genre) but holds a 79 aggregate score on Metacritic—and so my hopes are high for something comparable from this. If you're not familiar with Stasis and think you might like to be, a free prequel chapter called Cayne is available on Steam, so you can see what it's all about before you commit. As for Beautiful Desolation, it's up for wishlisting on Steam and GOG, and there's a website with more at thebrotherhoodgames.com.
