Close to the Sun is Coming to Gamescom 2018

With its historic slice of horror Close to the Sun in hand, Italian studio Storm in a Teacup announced that it’ll be heading north to Cologne this August, showcasing its aforementioned adventure to select media at the Italian Trade Stand (AESVI) at Gamescom.

Check out the Gamescom 2017 announcement trailer of Close to the Sun, featuring some gameplay footage:

“Close to the Sun casts players back to the height of Nikola Tesla’s career in the late 1890s, charging them with boarding a mysterious ship complex created by the man himself to bring the greatest minds of the world together in an alternative version of history.

Though his various scientific breakthroughs have, even at this early stage, had a major impact on the rest of the world, it quickly becomes apparent that something, somewhere on this ship has gone disastrously wrong, and history is not playing out as it should. Players take on the role of Rose, a young journalist searching for her sister in this first-person horror adventure, with Close to the Sun’s water-laden world offering no way of escape and no easy answers to the riddles aplenty therein.

“We love the horror genre, but with Close to the Sun, we wanted to do something different to your standard horror cliche of a haunted house,” offers Carlo Ivo Alimo Bianchi, Founder and Creative Director at Storm in a Teacup.

“I’ve also personally always been interested by Nikola Tesla, and while most people are aware of his scientific discoveries and work with electricity, we all thought his story would provide the perfect basis for a mind-bending mystery. Scientists and intellectuals of his day were expanding the realms of human knowledge at a pace, so the idea of giving them all an environment without limits, without restraints of any kind, is an engaging one. But what happens when people out to create the perfect world discover their creation is not so perfect after all?”

Close to the Sun features:

First-person horror adventure where survival is the order of the day

Problem solving in order to progress the story: Just what happened on board Tesla’s ship?

Danger aplenty as Rose pieces together just what killed most on board despite having no real means to defend herself

Teamwork with a yet-to-be-revealed ally who helps Rose navigate her way through the ship’s Art Deco halls

Nerve inducing exploration – defenseless and weaponless, the keys to Rose’s survival are running, hiding, and quick thinking

First revealed back at Gamescom last year, Close to the Sun’s visuals are heavily inspired by Art Deco, Art Nouveau and Steampunk, with players charged with both exploring and surviving Tesla’s dystopia domain in first-person as they venture towards a promised salvation. What lies in wait for those who manage to dance away from death within a world seemingly intent on bringing about their demise?

Close to The Sun is currently scheduled for release on PC, PS4 and Xbox One in Q1 2019, powered by Unreal Engine 4.”