Pixies are a rock band, Alien is a horror movie, and Braid is just a puzzle-platformer.
While all of those statements are technically accurate, true pop-culture connoisseurs know that what these three examples do is utterly unique within their respective genres. The same is true of Where is my Heart?, a new game from Danish indie developer Die Gute Fabrik.
The game tells the story of a family of monsters who are searching for their home, a “heart tree”, in the forest. It’s based on a true experience of Bernie Schulenberg, one of the game’s designers, who found himself lost in the woods while on a hike with his parents. To convey a sense of disorientation, the game screen splits in to a series of boxes and shuffles their placement. If you move to the right, you may not advance directly into the box on your right; you may end up two boxes down, or even in a box somewhere below you.
While Where is my Heart? features many of the tropes of platforming games (cute characters, disappearing blocks, spike pits), it’s this “box shuffling” mechanic and the depth of it’s emotions that make it special. All three monster have their own particular abilities and they have to work together to make their way home. It may be adorable but that’s just a clever disguise for the experience that lies beneath.
Playstation Plus members can download Where is my Heart? for free right now and it can be played on your PSP or your PS3. On November 22, it will be available for purchase by non-members. Enjoy the trailer below, check out the game, and be sure to follow Die Gute Fabrik on Twitter and let them know how much you appreciate their work.
Where is my Heart? Trailer from Bernie Schulenburg on Vimeo.