If you prefer your games a little less straight-laced and linear, then perhaps you should check out the upcoming 0°N 0°W.
Pronounced as ‘Zero North Zero West’, it’s a surreal exploration adventure in development from Colorfiction. Trying to describe exactly what the game is in words is… well… pretty difficult.
I’ve had a short preview of the game, and my time with it has left me confounded yet intrigued. It’s unlike anything else I’ve played before, and while its offbeat style certainly won’t appeal to everyone, it’s definitely got an air of genuine mystery that’s hard to find in a video game these days.
Opening up with an intensely bizarre FMV showing aged footage of people mulling around a busy city, you soon find yourself plunged into the game’s world. Or one of its worlds. It’s dark around you, but in the distance you can see a neon sign glowing. You walk towards it. Inside it looks like a cinema — there’s a service desk, and going through another door, you walk through the actual theatre, down to a flickering screen at the bottom.
But then everything cuts to white. It’s disorienting and perplexing, but I couldn’t look away. The next flash, I was in a corridor filled with endless doors. I wandered for a while, before going through one. Another flash of white, before I was tossed into what looked like some kind of office surrounded by barren fields of black.
Every experience with 0°N 0°W is designed to be unique thanks to a randomised level system. And behind every door in that corridor lies a different ‘world’ to explore, each one accessible in any way you choose. There’s no invisible walls or end points – just bizarre, hypnotic landscapes to explore wander through however you see fit.
While 0°N 0°W‘s lack of guidance and perceived simplicity will likely put some people off, its intoxicating mystique will surely be enough to draw you in, even if it’s out of sheer curiosity.
This is not your usual video game. There are no clean lines or realistic visuals. Every area you explore in 0°N 0°W is different, but each world is surreal and trippy in its own way. From monochrome mountains to neon trees and glowing cityscapes, there’s no telling what waits behind the door.
