Famend recreation developer Ron Gilbert’s newest recreation is under no circumstances what any of us may’ve anticipated. As noticed by Time Extension, the sport’s been teased as “Basic Zelda meets Diablo meets Thimbleweed Park,” and is ready to launch in 2024…perhaps.
Gilbert, famed for his tenure at LucasArts the place he developed legendary journey video games like Maniac Mansion and the Monkey Island collection, started work on the title earlier this 12 months, and has been teasing out its growth on his Mastodon account. We all know little else concerning the recreation at this second, however as of some days in the past, Gilbert formally unveiled the sport and revealed that Elissa Black (who co-founded Flat Earth Video games, makers of Objects in House) could be becoming a member of the group as a quest designer. Gilbert joked that her addition to the group “ups the possibility by 37% that I’ll end the sport earlier than changing into bored and disillusioned.”
The publish additionally contains a screenshot of the in-development RPG, which boasts a comfortable however acquainted pixel-art type. The few sprites featured within the picture don’t look too totally different from characters featured in a few of Gilbert’s different video games, particularly Thimbleweed Park.
Since leaving LucasArts, Gilbert has remained lively within the video games trade, becoming a member of forces with TIm Schafer at Double High quality Leisure within the early 2010s to develop the journey recreation The Cave, earlier than finally leaving and founding his personal studio, Horrible Toybox, the place he labored on the throwback point-and-click Thimbleweed Park. Sure, the exact same Thimbleweed Park that’s inspiring Gilbert’s newest recreation. Extra of us ought to take inspiration from ourselves. Fuck yeah, Ron.
Since Thimbleweed Park’s launch in 2017, Gilbert and his studio additionally sneakily labored on and launched 2022’s acclaimed Return to Monkey Island. The sport marked Gilbert’s first contribution to the collection he created since Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge in 1991.
Although Gilbert appears to imagine that he and the group at Horrible Toybox might launch the sport later this 12 months, the itemizing on the firm’s web site does throw in a parenthetical that jokes, “perhaps early 2025, that is gamedev in spite of everything.” It doesn’t matter what, it seems like we’re getting a brand new Ron Gilbert recreation comparatively quickly, people!