What you need to know
- Half Mermaid Productions is a production company founded by developer Sam Barlow, and previously worked on 2019's Telling Lies and 2022's Immortality.
- Sam Barlow's games tend to blur the lines of genre, using live footage of actors and actresses recorded on sets, while players are forced to unravel mysteries by scrubbing through said footage.
- As part of a guest appearance on Kinda Funny Games, Barlow announced two new games that are in development, cryptically teased as Project C and Project D.
- Half Mermaid Productions is also launching a Design Works crowdfunding campaign for Immortality.
If you're a fan of more unusual games, we've got great news.
Sam Barlow and Half Mermaid Productions, the team behind 2019's Telling Lies and 2022's Immortality, are working on two new games, as shared during the former's guest appearance on Kinda Funny Games Daily. Barlow is keeping most of the details under wraps for now, but confirmed that he's now working on Project C and Project D, two games that are both available to wishlist on Steam.
The Steam descriptions are heavily redacted, with only tiny bits of visible texts, though the words "survival horror" are clearly present on Project D, while Project C features the words "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known," from 1 Corinthians 13:12 in the King James Version of the Bible.
Barlow explained during the show that more text will become visible as more and more people wishlist the games. You can watch the full episode of Kinda Funny Games Daily below:
Barlow curiously notes that Immortality was "Project A," while Project B is something different that has been shelved for now, but that doesn't mean it will never be picked up again.
Full platforms for Project C and Project D aren't currently known, though obviously both games will be available on Windows PC via Steam. It's also worth remembering that Immortality launched on Xbox Game Pass, and was an Xbox console exclusive until the arrival of the PS5 version this year.
An in-depth look at Immortality is being crowdfunded
In addition to these two new projects, Half Mermaid Productions launched a crowdfunded campaign for Immortality: Design Works, an in-depth look at the development of the game starring Manon Gage. Immortality: Design Works features almost 600 pages of details on the game's development, including the full script. Half Mermaid Productions is seeking to raise £60,000 by sometime in March, and at the moment I'm writing this, the campaign has raised £17,000.
In our review of Immortality, former games editor Carli Velocci gave the game 5/5 stars and wrote that "Immortality is something special, a game dripping with atmosphere and oozing ambition. You rarely see video games like this, featuring not one but three stories that feel fully realized. It feels like you’re watching three separate films tied together by a real enigmatic actress and the people she pulled in with her."
Analysis: ████ yeah
We barely have any information but I'm already in. Immortality was one of my favorite games of 2022, something that truly defied genre and my preconceptions of what games could still do to surprise me. I won't spoil it if you haven't played it yet, but it's well worth picking up while we wait for more information on these next two projects.
Survival horror, hmm...
