Residue

Description

The Aral Sea, Uzbekistan. It used to be the fourth largest lake in the world, an ocean to the desert nations of Central Asia. Now they call it the white desert - for of the sea remains only salt. And it is the only place where this story could be told.

History

Residue is a "cinematic" game experience that blends exploration and platforming in a tightly directed progression through 13 content-packed chapters, all set in the same interconnected world. The player alternates between playing three different characters:

Emilio

A reckless young boy who will climb high and dive deep in search of his philantropist mother. He is eager to find out where she went and help her with whatever world-saving she is doing now.

Jumagul

Emilio's elderly grandfather, once a celebrated fisherman of the Aral Sea. Now, armed with only a flashlight, he escorts his estranged grandchild to the place where his darkest memories dwell, and does his best to protect him.

Nikolai Sitvin

The disgraced oil tycoon Nikolai Sitvin is the only one who knows how to bring back the Aral Sea. He can be seen climbing around the ship graveyard using a makeshift grappling hook, and will stop at nothing to complete his project.

Story and Gameplay

Following They Breathe, The Working Parts are still devoted to juggling gameplay with complex storytelling, this time letting the player try out all the roles in the story. Since you get to play as every major character, you develop an understanding for them, one that lingers when you have to oppose them as another character later. Things get complex quickly. At the same time, the three characters make it easy for Residue to mix up its pacing and keep introducing new elements and mechanics non-stop during the three to four hour journey. Whether you're combing the toxic seabed for hidden items, hanging by Emilio's fingertips in the riggings of the ship graveyard, lighting your way through pitch-black corridors, learning to dive in the salty remains of the sea or just seeing how far you can swing with Nikolai's grapnel, Residue is serious about giving you content for your time.

Development

Residue is The Working Parts' magnum opus, and the reason we formed as a studio back in 2009. For 5 long years it was a development dream and a development nightmare - often both - from its first steps as a naive student project to when it was finally released on Steam, as Residue: Final Cut, on August 1, 2014.

Features

• Real-world setting: The vanished Aral Sea in Central Asia, peppered with artifacts of an all too real history.
• A world imagined: Eerily detailed, vibrant HD art, closely based on photos from the Aral Sea and filled with secrets.
• Something to say: Experience a non-violent, thought-provoking, fully voiced story concerning the cost of saving worlds, without giving up control.
• Exploration: Explore an interconnected game world using three characters with very different abilities.
• Variety, variety, variety: From climbing to exploring to diving to navigating pitch-black corridors, integrating new gameplay elements at every turn.
• Captivating Soundtrack: With many vocal tracks and an ethnic vibe, composed and produced by Joel Bille.