Update: This article quotes one of Woodsalt's developers, creative director George Berry, who said on the game's website that he wanted to create something like Persona 4 Golden, but without the "grindy nonsense." When we repeated that comment on Twitter with a link to this article, there was a significant, negative response. In a tweet responding (opens in new tab) to our post, Berry apologized for the comment.
"I hold the Persona series in extreme reverence," he wrote, explaining that he's a fan of the games and anime. "Regardless I absolutely come across as a smug wanker and I'm genuinely sorry and pretty goddamn embarrassed."
Original story: English indie developers Team Woodsalt have announced their first game, which is also called Woodsalt. It's about waking up 1,000 years after you fell asleep in a city inside a bubble, and also maybe about being haunted?
The trailer has a lot of mood and not a huge amount of information, but fortunately the official website (opens in new tab) makes up for that. Here's Woodsalt's origin story, direct from one of its creators: "Basically I played Persona 4 Golden on my PS Vita (rest in peace, lil’ buddy) and wanted to make a game similar minus all the grindy nonsense. So, if you like Persona then you’ll like this. There’s loads of side characters who will like or dislike you depending on what you say and it will change how the story plays out."
Half of Woodsalt is taken up exploring the city of Nu-Terra, and the other half talking to NPCs. Apparently, "You can’t do everything in one playthrough (which will take around 9-10 hours) so you have to choose who you engage with. There are 3 main story endings and 22 side plot endings so yeah, it’s your story bro."
Woodsalt is due to be released on Steam (opens in new tab) on October 13.
