Traditionally speaking, the video game industry enters an annual slumber during the summer months, with the blockbuster season all but wrapping up following the release of Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Knight in a few weeks’ time. It’s during this period that the indie scene thrives, though, and this year is shaping up to be no different. Hot on the heels of Mike Bithell slating Volume for an August release, Dear Esther developer The Chinese Room has confirmed plans to launch Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture on August 11.
Teasing the beginning of the end, the studio’s latest takes place in rural England – Yaughton Valley, to be specific – planting players in a beautiful, yet eerily desolate environment within which to explore. From there, you’ll be tasked with piecing together exactly what happened to the idyllic village and the overarching mystery behind the apocalypse.
Wrapped around this intriguing premise is a definitively non-linear story and, in a similar vein to Dear Esther, the ways in which players poke and prod around the ethereal countryside will have direct implications to the outcome of the story. Expect to hear much more about the tantalizing first-person experience in the weeks to come, with The Chinese Room pointing to an upcoming development diary and other material that will help shed light – but not too much – on this most peculiar PlayStation 4 exclusive.
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture will release exclusively for PlayStation 4 on August 11. For more screenshots, artwork and for the chance to listen to the game’s stunning soundtrack, check out the serene website that The Chinese Room has set up.