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Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1

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2020 video game
Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1
Developer(s)Cosmo D
Publisher(s)Cosmo D
Designer(s)Greg Heffernan
Programmer(s)Greg Heffernan
Artist(s)Greg Heffernan
Composer(s)Greg Heffernan
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
ReleaseMay 15, 2020
Genre(s)Adventure game
Mode(s)Single-player

Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 is a 2020 adventure game developed and published by Cosmo D. Players explore a surreal city. It is the sequel to Off-Peak and The Norwood Suite and was followed by Betrayal at Club Low.

Gameplay

Two mysterious people task the player to steal a saxophone from Caetano Grosso, a former musician who now runs a pizzeria. The game is played from a first-person perspective and focuses on exploring the world. While posing as a pizzeria employee, the player makes custom-order pizzas based on abstract and somewhat nonsensical phrases (which writer Matthew J.R. Parsons likened to Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies) and meets the various citizens of Off-Peak City. After delivering the pizzas, the player can sneak through customers' houses and photograph the surreal objects found in them. The game does not have voice acting; instead, non-player characters' speech is rendered as music.

Development

Greg Heffernan made the game mostly by himself using Unity and Blender. After being released as a part of a Humble Bundle, the game was released on May 15, 2020.

Reception

Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 received positive reviews on Metacritic. Despite his fears that it might be impenetrable, Rock Paper Shotgun's reviewer found it to be a very fun game that is enjoyable on a surface level. He felt that the game helps players discover their own meaning without being pretentious, likening it to being subtly tricked into having deep thoughts. Eurogamer wrote, "It's bizarre and unsettling, yet also captivating and hugely engaging." Comparing it to the works of film director David Lynch, Adventure Gamers said it may be too weird for some players but recommended it to those who are open-minded or fans of surrealism.

Slant Magazine and Rock Paper Shotgun included it in their best games of 2020, and it was nominated for the Nuovo Award at the 2020 Independent Games Festival.

References

  1. https://matthewjrparsons.com/tag/tales-from-off-peak-city-vol-1/
  2. ^ Crowley, Nate (2020-02-11). "Wot I Think: Tales From Off-Peak City Volume 1". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  3. ^ Couture, Joel (2020-02-10). "Road to the IGF: Cosmo D's Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1". Game Developer. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  4. Morton, Lauren (2020-05-15). "Surreal adventure game Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 is out now". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  5. "Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 (PC)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  6. Ahmed, Emad (2020-11-12). "The alluring weirdness of Tales From Off-Peak City". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  7. O'Connor, Bryce (2020-08-24). "Review for Tales from Off-Peak City: Volume 1 – Caetano's Slice". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  8. "The 25 Best Video Games of 2020". Slant Magazine. 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  9. "Our favourite games of 2020". Rock Paper Shotgun. 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
Video games by Cosmo D
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