It's been a hot sec since I've been absolutely floored by how beautiful a videogame's graphics are. Modern graphics are an amazing landmark of how far gaming has come technologically in such a short amount of time, but it takes a lot for a game's aesthetic to really speak to me. Yo Fujii's Goodbye World has screamed to me from the goddamn rooftops.
A video shown during the Day of the Devs at the Summer Game Fest is embedded above. (It starts at about 3:06:30 into the stream.)
It's, in a meta sort of way, an indie game about the highs and lows of developing an indie game. Outgoing graphics artist Kumade and the reserved programmer Kanii have been pals since college, working together to create games that unfortunately haven't really taken off. The two are struggling to find the balance between pursuing their passions and paying the bills, having to take up part-time jobs to make ends meet.
- I felt goodwill and hope for the future seeing Cybrlich and the Death Cult of Labor, an FPS that's 60% HUD and looks like an Adult Swim cartoon where you smoke 'deepweed' to restore your health and blow clouds that spell out 'doink' and 'loud'
- Hello Sunshine is a desert survival sandbox where you live in the literal shadow of the colossus
It's a tale any budding creative will be painfully familiar with, but the world's harsh realities are presented through gorgeous pixel graphics that are stunning even in the purposefully murky resolution that closely resembles a GameBoy Advance or Super NES. Watching the trailer evokes a weird sense of nostalgia for a life I never lived—perhaps it's making me reminisce about games with similar vibes I would play as a kid.
Goodbye World's narrative is presented through 13 chapters and 12 stages of a puzzle platformer, which has me wondering if we'll be playing through Kanii and Kumade's game as they develop it. Whatever Goodbye World has in store, I'm already very much signed up and ready to dive in.
Goodbye World is due out on Steam later this year. You can wishlist the game right now, too.
