Over the years, we've covered more than a few ARTE Experience titles in our gaming roundups, including Homo Machina and Type:Rider. ARTE may be better known for its public cultural television channel, but seeing that its games created under the ARTE Experience banner align with the cultural themes of its televised content, we're excited for the upcoming launch of the studio's latest title, How to say Goodbye. As a matter of fact, since today is the start of Gamescom, we had the chance to go hands-on with the narrative-based platformer on the show floor. Let's dig in and see what ARTE Experience has up its sleeves before How to say Goodbye launches.

The above teaser was first published in November 2021, and we had the chance to see the game in action on the show floor of Gamescom 2022. As you can see, How to say Goodbye offers a slick, minimalist design, opting for gameplay somewhat similar to Monument Valley, where you'll interact with the world in order to traverse its landscape. ARTE Experience has even taken this mechanic further, as you'll have no direct control over your character, which certainly makes for an interesting way to tackle each stage's puzzle.

Since How to say Goodbye is a narrative game, the story is important. Having recently turned into a ghost, the protagonist is very much interested in figuring out why they are lost in an unknown world filled with spirits, but this situation has them confused and afraid. This is where you, the player, come in. It will be up to you to help them escape this ghostly world, all by interacting with the in-game world. It's an interesting theme that's definitely heavier than the children's book-like art would at first imply, but that's what makes this game so intriguing.

Of course, I'm happy to see that ARTE Experience is leaning heavily on unique artful design, something the dev is known for. The developer even revealed on the show floor that since it is a public company, it's the company's duty to deliver games the public actually enjoy, hence the fair pricing model ARTE Experience uses within its games. So far, I'd say ARTE Experience has hit this mark with aplomb with past releases, hence the excitement for How to Say Goodbye, the very reason we chose to go hands-on with this title. It looks cool, and now that we've had a chance to play, we can confirm the puzzle-based gameplay is also worthwhile — with wonderfully satisfying haptics on mobile at that.

How to say Goodbye is expected to land on Android before the year is out, though we don't yet have a hard date, and we still don't know the expected pricing, though if it's anything like previous titles, the monetization will be fair. So, for now, if you'd like to learn more about How to say Goodbye, you can check out the press kit or download the demo on Steam to take it for a spin before the Android release is out later this year. And if you're on the hunt for a large screen to play this on, then you may want to look into the best tablets for Android so that you can fully enjoy the striking art in How to say Goodbye.

UPDATE: 2022/08/26 02:44 EST BY MANUEL VONAU

Updated video at request of ARTE