It has been a long old road for Tin Hearts, an adorable little puzzle title that was initially revealed by Rogue Sun all the way back in 2016; for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Today, the studio has revealed several new screenshots as well as the most important detail, a release window for the end of this year.
Taking inspiration from classics like Lemmings, Tin Hearts involves guiding a troop of mischievous tin soldiers through a craftsman’s workshop. Alter their path with various toys and objects, bounce them across tables and make sure they don’t crash to the floor, all in a bid to get them to the end goal.
At the same time, you uncover a magical narrative that spans not only generations but also dimensions as well; all based around Albert Butterworth, a genius inventor in Victorian times. Exactly what you’d expect from Rogue Sun, a team formed after the closure of Lionhead Studios – the developer of Fable.
As it’s been six years since Tin Hearts was revealed it has certainly expanded upon its initial VR premise. Back in 2018, Rogue Sun released Tin Hearts: Prologue giving an early access tease of the videogame before pulling it entirely due to a new publishing partnership with Wired Productions. Then last year Tin Hearts resurfaced at a Wired Direct event, confirming the videogame was still in production but would also get a non-VR edition.
After all these years Tin Hearts is now slated to arrive during Q4 2022, still supporting PC VR headsets like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Valve Index, whilst adding Meta Quest 2, PlayStation VR, PlayStation 4 & 5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles.
Tin Hearts is one of those VR titles gmw3 has been looking forward to playing more of after previewing it four years ago: “It feels almost like being inside a Disney movie, with beautiful use of light and wood to build a scene that has a great sense of presence, with just the right amount of toys and other paraphernalia littered about the place.”
There’s still a while to wait though. If any further details do arise gmw3 will let you know.
First and foremost this Early Access title for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift is a Lemmings-style experience for the modern VR era, and that’s no bad thing. That simple gameplay style of getting some little characters from a start to a finish line has endured and evolved, this time featuring squads of tin soldiers to help through an ever more elaborate set of locations.
But to give you ultimate control of the experience and the gameplay there are both time and movement options. In regards to time, you can pause, fast forward and rewind as needed to complete the puzzles, keeping a good eye on where the soldiers are. One mistake and they’ll hit the floor – which does not end well. And as the levels increase in size so must your ability to explore them. As expected a teleportation option is introduced first, however, jumping into the options menu you’ll find smooth locomotion as well as turning variants.
