Summer Game Bang!: Blanc

I often turn into Nintendo’s third party showcases for a glimpse at a game that I plan on playing on a more preferred platform. Often times these partner showcase games go multiplatform and I opt to add them to my more current gen libraries. But I saw a game from Developer Casus Ludi and Gearbox Publishing today that not only is a Nintendo console exclusive, but it is one of the most charming and visually striking games I saw during the entire Summer Game Bang season.

Blanc is the story of a young deer and fox who find themselves separated from their families after a winter storm and must work together to get home. Utilizing a positively charming hand-drawn aesthetic, Blanc looks like a storybook come to life. The characters and environments all look like they were lovingly drawn with a graphite pencil on snow-white paper. The visuals of this game simply have to be seen to be believed. As an illustrator myself, I was completely in love with the look of Blanc and what the developers were able to achieve bringing this art style to life.

Blanc uses a cooperative game mechanic in both local and online play where you and a friend select your charming young animal of choice and work together to solve puzzles and navigate the snowy wilderness on your journey back home. Each animal respectively has their own unique set of perks that makes gameplay unique and will undoubtedly invite players to come back again and again to experience scenarios from each animal’s vantage point.

While the weather may be cold, these two characters will assuredly warm players hearts when Blanc launches on Switch and PC in February of next year.