Square Enix Collective Announces

Point-And-Click Adventure ‘Goetia’

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I doubt the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Square Enix is Point and Click Adventure games. These types of experiences were more LucasArts’ wheelhouse ten years ago and is now primarily handled by Double Fine. Sure, there’s a few developers out there still creating fun, puzzle-solving experiences (Daedalic Entertainment comes to mind), but for the most part- the genre has gotten a little stagnant. That’s why it’s nice to hear that Square Enix is taking a page from Greenlight and has started ‘The Collective.’ It’s even better to hear that they’ve announced their first published game, an independent adventure called Goetia.

You play a young woman by the name of Abigail Blackwood, a young woman who’s now living her life as a ghost in her family’s mansion of Blackwood Manor. Located in the now vacant British town of Oakmarsh, everyone has long since fled from the land. Now, Abigail wanders the halls of her family’s former mansion, a standing monument to mysticism and insane experimentation. Suddenly, after 40 years, someone has come looking to discover the mysteries behind this abandoned tomb.

The game is a little different than traditional entries in the genre, and according to the Collective’s page, they “wanted to create a slightly different experience.” While the story will still play an important role, exploration will play a role similar to the puzzle-solving. Using the spirit of the 12-year-old Abigail, you’ll search the ground for any clues into the end of Blackwood, and a strange occult called Goetia.

There are two different stages of exploration; one where you can freely explore the manor, forest and village looking for clues, and one where you play “as an object.” What this seems to mean is that you can possess objects, and use them to interact with your environment. This element seems to be taking a page from Ghost Trick, a game on the Nintendo DS. The game promises over a hundred rooms to explore, five unique zones, special abilities to discover, sub-quests and a campaign lasting over 15 hours.

Goetia is being developed by French developer Sushee, and was originally pitched to the Collective in 2014, garnering a 90% approval rating by their peers. The project then went on to its Kickstarter campaign, where it hit its thirty thousand dollar target back in February.

“It’s a great opportunity for Sushee,” said Producer Benjamin Anseaume in a press release, “to be able to access such fantastic resources and expertise while still retaining complete control over our own destiny. We’ve enjoyed working with Phil and the team over the past year, and we’re really happy to be continuing that relationship all the way to launch.”

The Collective is a service that helps creators develop ideas and a community to decide which projects move forward. When a project is approved, Square assists the game through the daunting crowdfunding process and allows the developers to maintain full control and IP of their project. Today, Square Enix officially announced that their game Goetia will be published onto Steam in early 2016.

“Over the past two years we’ve met and worked with a large number of talented teams, and learned a great deal in the process,” said Phil Elliot, Square Enix Initiative’s creator and Project Lead about the release. “To help give some of those projects the best possible launch is the next exciting milestone for us here.”

For more information about this game, and the often ignored PnC genre as a whole, keeping reading Mouse N Joypad for more news, previews, and reviews.