Un Je Ne Sais Quoi is a French indie outfit co-founded by Cannes award-winning animation director Cédric Babouche. The studio's debut project is the wonderfully-named Mr Tic Toc & the Endless City—a gorgeous painterly adventure about time travel and solving puzzles.
Let's have a gander at some moving pictures first, then I'll explain what it's all about:
So, what's going on there? After coming into possession of a time-travelling briefcase, Mr Tic Toc has two options: Hand the briefcase into his local lost property office OR set out to recover a rare artifact to become the most famous antiquarian the world has ever seen. I mean, look at him, Mr Tic Toc, with his poncho, dashing top hat, and hipster beard and glasses combo. Which route did you think he'd take?
Naturally, Tic Toc's newly-acquired luggage breaks shortly after setting off, which leaves him stranded in time. Only by recovering missing 'tempos' can the inquisitive collector fix his machine—a process which sees him dotting back and forth throughout the ages. As briefly teased above, a range of time periods can be visited—from the Mesozoic Age to the year 3000—as Tic Toc overcomes puzzles and makes his way home. It all looks lovely.
Messing with the past and future can have "drastic consequences", says developer Un je ne sais quoi. Mr Tic Toc & the Endless City is due 2019—assuming our protagonist hasn't disrupted the space-time continuum by then. More information can be found on the game's official site.
