Don't Nod Entertainment, the studio behind Life is Strange and Vampyr has released its first teaser image for an upcoming game. The released image has the internet abuzz with its 90s nostalgia and Life is Strange's trademark visual style.Don't Nod Entertainment found its footing early on with its first title, Remember Me, an action-adventure released in 2013 and published by Capcom with solid combat and an impressively fleshed-out story. Don't Nod managed to break into a more mainstream spotlight with its sophomore effort, Life is Strange. The coming-of-age drama with a healthy dose of the supernatural propelled Don't Nod into the ranks of premier AA studios and carved a unique niche in the industry with its episodic-based release model. The 2018 follow-up Life is Strange 2 cemented Don't Nod's spot as a storytelling powerhouse within the industry. The following year, the studio proved it still had its action-adventure chops by partnering up with Saber Interactive to release the bloodsucking action RPG, Vampyr.On January 27, Don't Nod took to its official Twitter page to release a small glimpse of what its Montreal studio is working on. Released as an open job listing advertisement, the still shot shows off a scene that should trigger a massive rush of nostalgia for gamers who grew up in the 90s. In a distinctly Life is Strange style, a wood-paneled basement with cozy lighting houses a nondescript, cartridge-based game console sitting on a coffee table, its AV cords dangling off the front end of a nearby box television set. A VHS player rests below the TV set with a collection of tapes loosely arranged in a storage rack at the leftmost side of the image. Any person who spent their formative years playing Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis in their parent's basement most likely has some version of this image seared into their memory.
Don't Nod recently published the 2022 story-focused RPG Gerda: A Flame in Winter, but has not developed a title since 2020's Twin Mirror, which was met with mixed reviews and a sentiment from fans that the quality was not up to the bar set by the Life is Strange series. This new teaser from the studio comes to many as a declaration of returning to form, with a narrative focus seemingly honing in on its coming-of-age roots. Whether this mysterious new title will feature some supernatural twist is unclear, but it does feel like a safe bet, given Don't Nod's track record.
While fans are speculating about Don't Nod's teaser image of its new game, whether it is a new entry in the Life is Strange series or something else entirely, many are patiently awaiting an official announcement. With the Future Games Show and E3 coming in late spring of 2023, the time seems right for its grand unveiling.
Life is Strange: Remastered Collection is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, and Switch