In 2018, the video game FAR: Lone Sails was released and allowed players to take on the role of a survivor trying to drive their vehicle through a dusty, post-apocalyptic world. The game was developed by Swiss company Okomotive and published by Mixtvision, providing players with a side-scrolling adventure.
FAR: Lone Sails was released for PC, the PlayStation 4, the Nintendo Switch, the Xbox One, and mobile devices. Now, the game has a sequel titled FAR: Changing Tides published by Frontier Foundry that aims to change things up a bit. The sequel will maintain the tone of the first game, but this time players will have to drive a new vehicle through aquatic locations.
Recently, Don Schmocker, the co-founder and lead artist at Okomotive, made an announcement about FAR: Changing Tides, saying it will launch on March 1, 2022, for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. He added that the game will be a vehicular adventure that follows a young boy called Toe traveling on his ship across a flooded, post-apocalyptic world.
According to Schmocker, the developers at Okomotive received a lot of positive player feedback about how FAR: Lone Sails' "meditative, reflective nature" resonated with them. So, the developers wanted to maintain that atmosphere again while changing things up in the sequel. The intent is that the sequel will bring a more "thought-provoking experience" for players to enjoy in the new game.
For the sequel, Schmocker said that Okomotive wanted to expand on the setting by offering something with stormy weather and new locations, like submerged cities. The goal of this new environment is to offer fans and new players an experience filled with new puzzles and ship mechanics to master. To explore this new setting, players will use the game's new vehicle, Toe's ship, for traveling with sails, oars, and an engine.
Like the first game, the story for FAR: Changing Tides will not be told to players but must be found. For the sequel, Okomotive wrote most of the story and world-building during pre-production, which allowed the developers to design the environments with the story. This game uses the environmental storytelling approach similar to games like Hyper Light Drifter.
According to Schmocker, players will be able to learn the hidden story of the game by discovering sunken treasures, buildings, victims of the floods, and any relics from the past. All of these items will tell a story in the game, and the intent is that it will form a close bond between players and the game's world. The flooded setting also adds verticality to the gameplay with a new level of exploration as players' journeys will take them above and below water in the game.
FAR: Changing Tides is scheduled to release on March 1, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5. Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: PlayStation