Developer Owlcat Games, best known for cRPGs like Pathfinder or Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, recently launched a publishing arm and announced the first game it will help bring into the world. It is an isometric RPG in which you help a troubled man escape a time loop he’s become trapped in with only your emotions, deteriorating mental state, and a few strangers on the edge for company.
Rue Valley is being developed by Emotion Spark Studio and wears its inspiration on its sleeve. One look at the trailer reveals that this is a game in the same vein as Disco Elysium. Throughout the game’s story, players must help their character deal with their own complex emotional turmoil while uncovering why the titular location of Rue Valley, and everybody residing there, has become trapped in a time loop.
You’ll rue the day you skip this one
As players explore Rue Valley, they’ll meet the colorful cast of characters who have become trapped there alongside them. Each one is dealing with some sort of emotional struggle that players must help them work through if they want to get any closer to the cause of the time loop.
Each step towards freedom will help players navigate their character’s emotional depths and the troubles they’re facing. But a single set of emotions isn’t going to help anyone discover anything.
That’s where the time loop comes into play. Each loop resets everything, including the player character’s emotions. This allows them to chop and change who their character is. Be that a loudmouth who puts their foot where they shouldn’t when it comes to someone else’s business, or a strange and slightly scary loner who doesn’t care about you, your problems, or the fact that you’re trapped here with them.
Emotions change with every loop, but memories are saved. These get mapped out in a graph that gives players a way to reference every character’s emotional cues and how to reach specific interactions with them.
Experimentation is key in Rue Valley. If players tread the same steps day after day, they won’t get any closer to learning who and what is behind the time loop. Taking chances, the paths less trodden, and giving in to the voice that asks what would happen if you pushed this character with a few harsh words, is how players will learn more and get deeper into the mystery.
Disco Elysium fans will immediately recognize the 2D Parallax art style that makes every scene in Rue Valley look like it’s telling a noir detective story. It gives Twin Peaks vibes while retaining its own identity.
While there’s no release date for Rue Valley at the time of writing, anyone who wants to keep an eye on it can do so by wishlisting it on Steam. In a world where we’ll almost certainly never see a Disco Elysium 2, it’s good to know that the impeccable experience it provided to players has inspired other developers to offer something fresh while paying homage to what it could have been.
Before you go
Thanks so much for reading our coverage of Rue Valley. If you like the look of the game then check out everything we’ve written on Disco Elysium to see if it’s your kind of game, or if we’ve got a guide to help you in your next playthrough.
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