Last year, we met with Wired Productions to preview their upcoming games Arcade Paradise, The Last Worker, and my personal favorite, Tin Hearts. Since then, Arcade Paradise has been released to very positive reviews and The Last Worker has been released to mixed reviews. If you haven’t heard of either of these games, you should check them out. The Last Worker actually released last week on March 30th, 2023. At PAX East 2023, we had the opportunity to meet with Wired Productions to preview Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles, Gori Cuddly Carnage, and Tin Hearts. So what has changed in the past year since we last previewed Tin Hearts?
When we met with Wired Productions at PAX East 2023, they stated that the game had undergone a visual enhancement as well as fine-tuning before the game’s release on April 20th, 2023. For the demo, the developer showed us three levels each with their own unique features.
The Demo
In the first level, although the exit door was rather closed, shooting over in a canon was not the solution. Instead, players must navigate the room in order to raise the stool by the door to complete the level. According to the developer, some fine-tuning was involved to guarantee players could lower the air balloons. This made the level have unique bridges for the toy soldiers to cross.
In the second level, we were able to experience a new mechanic that was put into the game to allow a soldier to roam around freely. In a way, the toy soldier felt like it was stepping out of Toy Story because of the free-roam action. Players can make the soldier shout across a gap, jump off a drum, and even climb ladders. Players are still required to get the other soldiers to the door safely, but it changed the core gameplay.
In the third and final level, we finally got a preview of the basement laboratory. In the basement, levels are not as straightforward. The player must get the soldiers to walk over treadmills in order to generate energy to move the bridges. Although it was simple enough to understand, some players could have a difficult time with it.
Learning More Character Details
Between each level, we had the opportunity to hear more of the game’s voice acting and finally see the wife and daughter. In the last demo, the daughter discovered the dollhouse her father is making for her. In this demo, she tells her mother what she found her father working on. The mother states that sometimes secrets are important to the person holding them; the mother goes on to state that it will be their secret until the gift is finally ready.
Although we know that there is tension between the parents, it is cute to see that the mother and daughter still want the father to be happy with the gift that he is preparing. Jumping between chapters, it will be interesting to see what the developer has in mind for the player when moving through the different levels. The core gameplay felt more polished and fine-tuned to allow players the easiest ability to maneuver the toy soldiers.
We can’t wait to see what Rogue Sun has to offer when Tin Hearts releases on April 20th, 2023 on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. Because of the improvements to the game, we nominated Tin Hearts for Best Indie Game of PAX East 2023.
