Tribeca Unveils Games Lineup, from ‘Immortality’ Interactive Ventures to ‘Cuphead’
The 2022 Tribeca Festival rounds out its lineup with the official games selection, announced on April 26. The events will celebrate the convergence of games, entertainment, and culture through nine interactive experiences.
Each selection will vie for the Tribeca Games Award, which honors an unreleased game for its excellence in art and storytelling through design, artistic mastery, and highly immersive worlds.
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The games program features the world premieres of “Immortality,” an interactive trilogy in which players can explore the legend of Marissa Marcel, a film star who disappeared, through her work; “OXENFREE II: Lost Signals,” the mind-bending follow up to the critically acclaimed narrative adventure “OXENFREE,” from Night School Studio; and “Cuphead – The Delicious Last Course,” another helping of classic “Cuphead” action with new weapons, magical charms, and more.
In 2021, Tribeca Festival featured its first-ever games selections, including Ember Lab’s visually stunning “Kena: Bridge of Spirits”; Luis Antonio’s interactive thriller “Twelve Minutes,” starring James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, and Willem Dafoe; and the inaugural Tribeca Games Award winner, “NORCO,” which was praised by critics upon its release in March 2022 for its narrative-rich experience.
From June 11 through 19, the Tribeca Festival once again offers digital experiences for global audiences powered by Parsec. Those able to join the Festival in person this year will be the first to experience a playable Games Gallery featuring demos, art, and artifacts for this year’s selections, hosted at Tribeca Festival’s hub, Spring Studios.
Additionally, the Tribeca Games Spotlight, an online showcase of this year’s official selections, features never-before-seen footage and interviews from the creators of the official sections as part of the Summer Game Fest — a free, all-digital global celebration of video games streaming online. Games fans across the globe can tune in on June 10 at 3 p.m. EDT via Tribeca’s website, major streaming platforms, and summergamefest.com.
The 2022 Tribeca Festival Games Official Selections are as follows:
“American Arcadia,“ (Spain, Greece, Brazil) – World Premiere. Welcome to Arcadia! A 70s retro-futuristic metropolis where all of its citizens enjoy a life of luxury and comfort… unaware that they’re being broadcast live 24/7! Arcadia is not an ordinary city, but the most-watched reality show on the planet—where a drop in popularity ratings comes at the highest cost: death. Uncover the truth and escape with your life from a televised utopia in Out of the Blue’s brand new puzzle-platformer game.
Developer: Out of the Blue Studios
Publisher: Raw Fury
“As Dusk Falls,” (United Kingdom) – World Premiere. As Dusk Falls is an original interactive drama from INTERIOR/NIGHT that explores the entangled lives of two families across thirty years in small-town Arizona. Starting with a robbery-gone-wrong, the choices you make will have a powerful impact on the characters’ lives in this story of betrayal, sacrifice, and resilience.
Developer: INTERIOR/NIGHT
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
“The Cub,” (Serbia, United States, Poland) – World Premiere. Welcome to Earth after The Great Climate Catastrophe, where only the ultra-rich managed to evacuate to Mars. Decades have passed and those on Mars venture back to Earth to collect specimens like a safari hunt. As the Cub, a mutant orphan immune to the toxins that killed off most of humanity, players will be relentlessly hunted by a science expedition and must run to safety amongst the ruins of Earth. Featuring an original soundtrack program, Radio Nostalgia from Mars.
Developer: Demagog Studio
Publisher: Untold Tales
“Cuphead – The Delicious Last Course,” (Canada, United States) – Another helping of classic Cuphead action awaits you in Cuphead – The Delicious Last Course. Brothers Cuphead and Mugman are joined by the clever, adventurous Ms. Chalice for a rollicking adventure on a previously undiscovered Inkwell Isle. With the aid of new weapons, magical charms, and Ms. Chalice’s unique abilities, assist the jolly Chef Saltbaker and take on a new cast of fearsome, larger-than-life bosses in Cuphead’s final challenging quest.
Developer and Publisher: Studio MDHR
“Immortality,” (United States) – World Premiere. Marissa Marcel was a film star. She made three movies. But none of the movies were ever released. And then Marissa Marcel disappeared. After discovering rare footage from her three lost movies — Ambrosio (1968), Minsky (1970) and Two of Everything (1999) — award-winning Game Director Sam Barlow (Her Story, Telling Lies) has assembled an interactive trilogy in which players can explore the legend of Marissa Marcel through her work.
Developer and Publisher: Half Mermaid
“OXENFREE II: Lost Signals,” (United States) – World Premiere. OXENFREE II: Lost Signals is the mind-bending follow-up to the critically-acclaimed narrative adventure game OXENFREE from Night School Studio. In the small coastal town of Camena, unnaturally occurring electromagnetic waves are causing interference with electrical and radio equipment. Reluctantly, Riley Poverly returns to her hometown to investigate the mystery. What she finds is more than she bargained for.
Developer: Night School Studio
Publisher: Netflix
“A Plague Tale: Requiem,” (France) – World Premiere. This direct sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence follows Amicia and her brother Hugo on a heartrending journey into a breathtaking, brutal medieval world twisted by supernatural forces as they discover the cost of saving loved ones in a desperate struggle for survival. Strike from the shadows or unleash hell, and overcome foes and challenges with a variety of weapons, tools, and unearthly powers. A Plague Tale: Requiem will be released in 2022 on consoles and PC.
Developer: Asobo Studio
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
“Thirsty Suitors,” (United States) – World Premiere. Jala is a young woman returning home for her sister’s wedding and confronting her past. With wildly varied gameplay, Jala will fight skate punks, random suitors, and ultimately, her exes, in the ultimate battle to heal old hurts and ignite new truths, bringing Jala closer to understanding what she wants from her future. Can she learn to love herself and heal the wounds of her past?
Developer: Outerloop Games
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
“Venba,” (Canada) – World Premiere. Venba is a narrative cooking game centered around an Indian mom who immigrates to Canada with her family in the 1980s. Players will cook various dishes, restore lost recipes, engage in branching conversations, and explore a story about family, love, loss, and more.
Developer: Visai Games
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