Degrees of Separation trailer showcases hot and cold co-op gameplay

Degrees of Separation is a co-op puzzle platformer, written by famed RPG wordsmith Chris Avellone, that follows the adventures of two very different characters named Ember and Rime. Ahead of its release next month, publisher Modus Games has put out a video that digs into the game's narrative and its hot-and-cold game world. 

Ember and Rime are each surrounded by a pocket of their natural environment wherever they go: Ember's world is warm, sunlit, and alive, while Rime's is encased in pale blue ice. Those environments have a direct impact on the world that they now share, so where Ember travels underwater, for instance, Rime walks on its frozen surface. Managing and interacting with those opposing environments will be central to solving the game's puzzles. 

"As Ember and Rime move between different worlds, the barrier between them, they gain various kinds of control over it. At one point it becomes an explosive force between them and and they can use that to their advantage," the producer explains in the video. "At other points in the game it becomes a solid barrier that they can manifest and use it to climb up obstacles that they wouldn't be able to reach." 

Avellone gets a nod for his part in the project as well: "It's definitely a lot different from a traditional RPG. There's even a lot of challenges with the way that the story is structured, just because Ember and Rime, the characters that are playing through them, they have most of the agency. So it was definitely a new challenge for him, but I think he did a really, really great job with it." 

Degrees of Separation is set for release on February 14. Find out more at dofsgame.com.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.