A procedurally generated game that ties island exploration with an aural soundscape and a unique pastel art look, Proteus is quite unlike anything else on the PC, and it finally has a release date: 30 January.
Ed Key and David Kanaga’s Proteus has been perpetually on the horizon for what feels like years so it’s wonderful news that, before the month is out, we’ll be able to explore lands like those in the video below.
Despite the sheer expanse open to be traversed, it’s the music of Proteus that is most affecting. It’s made up of multiple individual stems, each representative of different world elements – rain, trees, time of day, etc – and so each builds and adds upon one another to create an orchestra of nature. As you walk about the world you have this symphony accompany your movements and your discoveries.
A close companion is thechineseroom’s Dear Esther, it has that same sense of reserved discovery; there are no threats in this world, there is no definitive story, it is all about crafting an environment that encourages us to respond to what we experience.