Twin Peaks pops up with surprising frequency in the world of video games. It’s been homaged countless times, in titles like Deadly Premonition and Alan Wake, with even popular franchises like Silent Hill and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening borrowing elements of its unique aesthetic and visual style. Twin Peaks: Into the Night, an upcoming fan game, aims to adapt this world completely, using the minimalist retro style of PlayStation One-era games to retell the story of Laura Palmer.
As detailed on the itch.io page for the game, Into the Night is an homage to the work of David Lynch and Mark Frost, with gameplay designed to replicate the look and atmosphere of the show. You play as special agent Dale Cooper, as he enters the town of Twin Peaks to investigate the mysterious death of Laura Palmer, who is found wrapped in plastic by a river.
Early looks at gameplay have shown off the beginnings of Cooper’s journey, and his exploration of the town. It appears the entire sheriff’s station will be explorable, and that Cooper will be able to gather items as he travels, which can later be used to solve mysteries.
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An early demo for the game is set to be released via itch.io on 15 August 2023, with this slice seemingly including the first chapter in Cooper’s adventure, as well as a trip through the iconic Red Room.
Per developers at Blue Rose Team, Jean Manzoni and Lucas Guibert, the full game is a work-in-progress, with this demo designed as a snapshot to give players a sense of how the journey will play out, and how the aesthetics of Twin Peaks translate to the retro PSX genre.
In recent years, ‘demake’ PSX games utilising the visual style and blockiness of early adventures like Silent Hill have become incredibly popular. Initially, the style evolved from hardware limitations. Now, it’s become an artistic choice to represent strange, unsettling, and surreal worlds.
Twin Peaks: Into the Night launches its first demo on 15 August 2023. Stay tuned to the Blue Rose Team itch.io page for news and updates for this ambitious project. As the game is not official in any capacity, the demo will be available for free – a core consideration with all fan games utilising third-party intellectual property.
