In 2021, the Tribeca Festival, introduced its very first video games category. The festival, which hosts its now iconic film festival every year, celebrates its 20th anniversary, and will be showcasing a host of upcoming video games as part of its newly established games festival for the second year in a row.
Last year, Tribeca Festival's video game lineup included The Big Con, Harold Halibut, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Lost in Random, NORCO, Signalis, and Sable. NORCO ultimately won the event's video game centered award. This year, the festival is once again looking to blend smaller independent titles with some bigger releases. Here is a breakdown of the games featured in Tribeca Games Festival 2022.
American Arcadia
American Arcadia comes from Call of the Sea developers Out of the Blue. The game is a 2.5D narrative adventure game that follows a character attempting to escape a Truman Show-esque false reality. The game promises to combine puzzle elements with a gripping narrative, and seems to take inspiration from cinematic platformers such as Inside, but with a more light-hearted twist.
No release date has been revealed for American Arcadia so far, but the presentation is reason enough to be excited for the game's showcase at Tribeca Games Festival.
As Dusk Falls
Initially revealed during the 2020 Xbox Games Showcase, developer Interior/Night has been silent on As Dusk Falls for almost two years now. It appears now that the graphic adventure game, which promises to have a gripping, dramatic narrative akin to Telltale's The Walking Dead series, has been expanded. The upcoming release has now been dubbed 'As Dusk Falls Season 1.'
As Dusk Falls is being released by Xbox Game Publishing and will debut on Xbox Game Pass later this year. It seems like As Dusk Falls will have mass appeal as an episodic narrative title, similar to Telltale Games' work and the Life is Strange series, and may likely release very soon if a recent rating is to be believed.
The Cub
The Cub is an interesting inclusion in Tribeca Games Festival's lineup, as the game was revealed for the very first time alongside the lineup's announcement. The Cub is a narrative based 2D platformer from Golf Club: Wasteland developer Demagog Studio. The game follows a child who has grown up on Earth after humanity abandoned the planet for Mars due to an 'ecological catastrophe.'
The game's initial trailer showcases stunning 2D art with a gripping narrative setup, and is confirmed for release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
One of the most iconic games from the last generation of consoles was Cuphead, a 2D run-and-gun platformer inspired by 1930s Fliescher animation. The game has since gone on to inspire a franchise, with various merchandise tie-ins and a recently debuted Netflix animated series. Now, after five years since the original game's release, Studio MDHR is gearing up to release Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, a major DLC expansion for the game.
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course will appear at Tribeca Games Festival shortly before its release on June 29, 2022, for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Immortality
Despite a short stint as a designer and writer on games like Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and Silent Hill: Origins, British game designer Sam Barlow's major claim to video game notoriety was with 2015's Her Story. Her Story was an FMV adventure game with a non-linear narrative that captivated audience with its player-led storytelling. It appears Barlow is back with yet another game of its kind with Immortality; a new FMV adventure game that centers around the player's search for information into the disappearance of an actress by the name of Marissa Marcel.
Immortality has some major pedigree behind it, with Sam Barlow teaming up with legendary screenwriters such as Allan Scott (The Queen's Gambit), Amelia Grey (Mr. Robot), and Barry Gifford (Lost Highway). There will be a full playthrough of the game hosted by Barlow at Tribeca Games Festival ahead of its release on PC and Xbox Series X/S later this year.
Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals
One of the most underrated indie games in recent years was Night School Studios' breakout hit Oxenfree, a mystery adventure game inspired by films like Stand by Me and E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. The game shares some similarities with Neflix's Stranger Things, so it was no surprise when the studio was bought out by Netflix in September 2021. Before it shifts gears into making content for Netflix however, Night School Studio is preparing Oxenfree 2, a return to the mystery coming-of-age adventure game. The sequel follows an environmental researcher named Riley, who is returning to her hometown to investigate a string of bizarre radio broadcasts.
Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals is slated for release on PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch in 2022.
A Plague Tale: Requiem
A Plague Tale: Innocence was the breakout hit of 2019; seemingly coming out of nowhere to tell a gripping narrative of a young girl named Amecia struggling to protect her younger brother, Hugo, amidst the backdrop of the Hundred Years' War. Developer Asobo Studio earned a huge amount of award nominations, with the game becoming one of the most critically acclaimed titles of the year and eventually selling over one million copies. All eyes are on its sequel, A Plague Tale: Requiem, which was revealed at Xbox and Bethesda's E3 showcase and is gearing up for release this year.
A Plague Tale: Reqiuem will be showcased at the Tribeca Game Festival this year ahead of its release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S later in 2022.
Thirsty Suitors
Thirsty Suitors was one of the surprise indie gems to be revealed during last year's Game Awards. The game is a story-based adventure game that combines turn-based battles, skateboarding, and cooking, alongside a diverse cast of interesting characters. The game follows a young girl named Jala, who needs to deal with her annoying parents, confront her ex-boyfriends, and attend her sister's wedding before her family's matriarch, Nani, visits their home.
Thirsty Suitors is slated to launch later in 2022, and is currently only confirmed for PC.
Venba
The final game to be featured at Tribeca Game Festival this year, Venba is a narrative cooking game centered around an Indian mother who has immigrated to Canada in the 1980s. The player must cook meals for her family and recover lost family recipes to help reconnect them after a major shift occurs. Venba is the debut game from developer Visai Games.
Venba is currently confirmed for PC. A playable demo will be featured at Tribeca Game Festival this year.
Tribeca Game Festival will be held from June 10 — June 19, 2022.
