Highway of Tears – A Mystery No More?

Dutch illustrator and game designer Tim Hengeveld has recently unveiled his exciting new 2D mystery adventure game, Highway of Tears, which centers around real-life disappearances in British Columbia, Canada. The game, which interweaves elements from Haida mythology, True Detective, and Kentucky Route Zero, puts players in the role of Sofia, an African-American documentary maker who must unravel layers upon layers of secrets in order to explain the sudden disappearance of three girls in the middle of the wilderness.  Although HoT has only been in development for a few months, we have been given a preview trailer or two in addition to a game demo, which gives us a look at in-game locations, and an introduction into the background story and gameplay.

Hengeveld has mentioned that he tries to establish real-world collections with his games, with a diverse range of previous titles including historic adventure game Tijdtripper, The Jelly Reef, and Laka-a game about supporting the rehabilitation process of patients. The title for Highway of Tears was selected from a list (originally featured on Hengeveld’s bog) in which ‘The Yellowhead’ and ‘Augier’s Peak’ were also titles in the running, but it seems that HoT proved to be the most evocative. And if the concept art below is anything to go by, this is one game we can definitely look forward to. (Click to enlarge the image.)