Skybound touts indie titles Closer The Distance and Homestead Arcana

Skybound Entertainment unveiled Closer The Distance, a narrative-led life simulator from award-winning indie studio Osmotic Games. It made the announcement during Microsoft’s ID@Xbox Showcase.

And Skybound and Serenity Forge announced they will ship Homestead Arcana on April 21.

In Closer The Distance, players take on the role of Angela, who finds herself in limbo after a tragic accident. She is able to observe the small cozy village that she once lived in, discovering that she is connected to the residents and can help influence their lives and help them mend after her death.

The title is a narrative-led life-sim experience. Each character that Angela is able to interact with is fully simulated, with their own emotional states, wishes, memories, and intertwined relationships with other residents of the town. These complex and narratively-rich characters develop over time as they interact with each other, with or without Angela’s guidance.

Through their choices and interactions, players will discover the story of the community of Yesterby and the impact Angela has made on the lives of its diverse cast of characters. Each choice has incredible significance over the rich and poignant narrative that follows, and players will learn that at times, choices made in human relationships can have a deeper impact on your consequences.

Closer The Distance will be available later this year for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation5, PlayStation4, and PC via Steam.

”Closer The Distance is a truly unique slice of life sim, exploring some existential questions about the impact an individual’s life has on others” said Ian Howe, managing partner at Skybound Entertainment, in a statement. “The team at Osmotic have crafted a compellingly thoughtful narrative, providing players with the tools to interact with a carefully constructed world and truly influence its characters”

Osmotic Studios made excellent games in the past based on the work of George Orwell, author of 1984.

”Our studio was formed to explore new ways to convey complex narratives in video games, so after the success of our debut title, Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You, we looked at how we could push the medium further,” said Daniel Marx, CEO and game director at Osmotic Games. “Closer The Distance is the result and by merging life simulator mechanics with a thought-provoking narrative driven experience, we’re allowing our players to ponder and contend with challenging themes, layered with an undercurrent of hope, empathy and kindness”

Skybound, founded by Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead and Invincible, has been around since 2010, and it focuses creating universes that become pop culture phenomena from a library of over 150 properties, including the emerging tentpole Impact Winter.

Meanwhile, Homestead Arcana will debut on the PC via Steam and Game Pass for Xbox Series X|S and PC.

In Homestead Arcana, a menacing force known as the Miasma has taken over the land, with what remains of society banished to mountains above the clouds. A young witch farmer Billie embarks on a magical adventure with her cat familiar Huckleberry to rescue the land for future generations and heal the world. Players must pioneer, cultivate and craft spells to tap into nature to revitalize the corrupted realm and uncover the secrets of the Miasma.