Rogue Sun is a studio founded by ex-Lionhead Studios developers, and they’ve recently announced that their first game, a VR puzzle game dubbed Tin Hearts, is landing on Steam next month.
Heading into Early Access on November 8th, Tin Hearts is tasks you with guiding squads of tiny tin soldiers to safety through what the studio calls a “magical toy filled world.” Setting itself apart, Tin Hearts promises to deliver a heartfelt story in what the studio calls a cross between Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Lemmings set in a world with an old timey Disney aesthetic.
In Tin Hearts you can expect to unlock powers to control objects in the world, from toy blocks to drums, ultimately letting you link objects in creative ways to build paths to the exit for your to soldier to follow. Promising plenty of story-based objects to find, the game aims to reward the player with what Rogue Sun says is an “emotional, human tale that aims to resonate beyond the world of the game itself.”
Tin Hearts is heading to HTC Vive and Oculus Rift via Steam Early Access, which will provide the first act of the planned three-act game. Act One is said to take about three hours to play, with the full game providing the other two acts after what Rogue Suns estimates will be a nine to twelve-month early access period.
Rogue Sun was formed in 2016 after the closure of UK-based Lionhead Studios, the minds behind the Fable franchise. The three founders, Kostas Zarifis, Jon Askew and Ian Faichnie all worked on multiple Fable games together, and it’s clear the three have brought with them a knack for animation, storytelling and a flair for wonderment.