Witch Beam, the Brisbane-based development team behind the BAFTA-winning indie hit Unpacking, has revealed its next project — a musical puzzler called The tempo — is coming to Switch sometime in the in 2024.
With Cult Games on publishing duties, the initial trailer debuted at the recent PC Gaming Show, but you can watch the “Director’s Cut” above. We recommend watching the whole thing, as the gameplay clips at the end do a better job of explaining the relaxing vibes and puzzle gameplay than the tone-setting opening.
Essentially, the titular Tempopo is a radish-like, onion-like vegetable creature that bounces to the beat, just like everything else in these little garden diorama stages. Musical flowers in need of rescuing are apparently scattered across the sky, though only the Tempopo — protagonist Hana’s “magical garden spirits” — are up to the task, and you’ll have to use them to solve environmental puzzles and make your way to each garden exit.
BAFTA-winning audio director and composer Jeff van Dyck (who worked on Unpacking and Alien: Isolation) handles the music here, with Angela van Dyck and Eneteti Turnbull on vocals.
We’ll leave it to PR to work out the line-up a bit more:
Mischievous and uncoordinated by nature, Tempopo will rely on your instructions to work together and solve each island’s puzzle. Use your wits or trial and error to find the perfect configuration, solving puzzles with inventive solutions that involve multiple Tempopo performing different roles.
– Guide Tempopo through 60 levels, maneuvering, smashing, blocking, lifting and breaking through spatial puzzles through the four seasons
– Experience a bright and cheerful world that is permeated with music, where every living element moves in accordance with the musical heartbeat
-Build your own melodious garden with the flowers you save during the game and enjoy a unique musical performance
In addition to Switch, Tempopo will launch on Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
We have to say that those little Captain Toad-esque levels look nice, and the more we watched the trailer, the more the rhythm started to get us. Unboxing was a good game (although it did cause a slight panic in this writer who moved twice in six months in real life), so we can’t wait to see — and hear — more of this.
Tell us below if this is (or isn’t) your Tempopo.
