New York’s annual Tribeca Festival, which celebrates storytelling in audiovisual mediums, once again featured video games as part of its 2023 lineup. During the awards portion of the event, upcoming independent narrative game Goodbye Volcano High took out the ultimate Tribeca Games Award for the year.
What to know about Goodbye Volcano High
Described as a cinematic, branching narrative adventure and rhythm game, Goodbye Volcano High follows a group of anthropomorphic creatures as they enter their final year of high school.
While a difficult time for many adolescents, for protagonist Fang and their friends, they have the added complication of the world coming to an end. What they decide to do with this limited time is up to you.
Goodbye Volcano High comes from Canadian developer KO_OP, previously known for its excellent 3D puzzle game, GNOG. It’s due for release on 29 August 2023 on PC, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4.
Tribeca Games 2023 Special Jury Mention
Aside from Goodbye Volcano High, a Special Jury Mention was awarded to Despelote, an Ecuadorian-made game that revolves around a soccer-obsessed kid. It’s a first-person narrative game that explores how this kid relates to the world through sport and his culture.
Despelote also features an incredibly striking art style that mixes sepia-toned, real-world photographs with black and white, hand-drawn line art. The ball-kicking physicals also look quite satisfying.
The game is being developed by Julián Cordero and Sebastian Valbuena, and it’s being published by Panic, the company responsible for putting out games like Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game, as well as the PlayDate handheld console.
Despelote is planned for release on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. You can wishlist Despelote on Steam.
Tribeca Games 2023 Lineup
Here is the full lineup of excellent games that were a part of Tribeca Festival 2023.
- Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, Summerfall Studios
- Goodbye Volcano High, KO_OP
- Nightscape, Mezan Studios
- A Highland Song, inkle Ltd
- The Expanse: A Telltale Series, Deck Nine Games
- Despelote, Julián Cordero, Sebastián Valbuena, Gabe Cuzzillo, Ian Berman, Niall Tessier-Lavigne
- Chants of Sennaar, Rundisc
