“LIKE IN REAL LIFE, YOU CAN’T SATISFY EVERYONE, PLAYERS AREN’T IN CONTROL.” The sea is a fickle mistress, and an important aspect of games made by Copenhagen-based indie developer Die Gute Fabrik. In 2019’s Mutazione, teenager Kai visits an island of mutants who live, trade, and move around on boats following a calamity. The studio’s new game, Saltsea Chronicles, imagines a similarly watery world – after the sea has reclaimed large swathes of land post-climate change, new communities spring up.
It’s the story of a group of friends on a journey to find a missing comrade and help neighbouring communities. After an evening of storytelling, Maja, one of the group, suddenly disappears. The rest of them, including young Iris, diver Stew, new mother Molpe (who’s also Maja’s partner), and well-spoken…