Broken Pieces, the survival thriller set in a French village stuck outside of time from developer Elseware Experience and publisher Freedom Games, seeks out the paranormal on PC via Steam and Epic Game Store today. Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions release on Halloween, Oct. 31, 2022.

Walk along the cobblestone streets of the quaint, empty village of Saint-Exil as Elise tries to find her missing fiance, Pierre, amongst supernatural threats. Solve puzzles inspired by the real life mysteries of Brittany, France and collect clues to uncover the truth behind an eclectic cult to escape a town stuck outside of time. Survive antagonistic shadow monsters, upgrade weapons, and take control of Elise’s own unexplainable abilities.

Control elements of the town like the weather or fixed camera angles to progress through roadblocks and uncover hidden bits of information in the form of cassette tapes. Gather important facts and evidence to understand the goals of the cult and what caused the town to become a prison for Elise. Extra cassette collectibles can also provide essential benefits for survival, but not in the way one might expect.

Elise’s story takes place within a total hush, no background music to lighten up the mood. To fill the silence, the original licensed soundtrack can only be played from discoverable tapes that Pierre left behind. Paired with full handheld camera-work, every aspect of the game’s design evokes a feeling of solidarity and loneliness that can only be filled with the broken pieces of many parts across the music, visuals, dialogue, and gameplay.

“The mystery of Broken Pieces is out now and calls you all to solve it”, said Mael Vignaux, Project Lead of Elseware Experience. “The sense of isolation was our biggest focus and we have explored that in a number of ways one only can in video games. There is little to no background music, no NPCs to keep you company, just a portable camera that feels like it’s stalking you through the town. I think everyone can relate to that emotion and being able to convey what Elise is also feeling is something we hope people can really empathize with.”

Broken Pieces is available on PC via Steam and Epic Game Store for $24.99 thanks to a 20% launch discount as well as English and French language support. The console version will arrive on Monday, October 31, 2022. 

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