Death Stranding meets party-based tactical combat in mesmerising open world RPG Fog'n'Silence, in which you lead twisted humans through the Afterlife

How about that drone's eye view, eh

On viewing the trailer for Fog'n'Silence, I transformed instantly into a caricature of a Texan oilman. "Hoowee!!" I whooped, hurling down my ten gallon hat and firing my ivory-handled six shooter into the air. "I have got to get me some of that Fog'n'Silence!!" The best thing about this reference is that it tells you absolutely nothing about Fog'n'Silence.

Created by Kyiv-based Hello Andromeda, this is a grim and enveloping party-based open world RPG that, according to studio co-founder Vlad Muntian, takes inspiration from Kenshi, Death Stranding, and Outer Wilds. It puts you in charge of a group of Vagrants exploring the vast plains of the Afterlife. You'll deal with transmogrifying fog, sneak around blind monsters, tackle esoteric physics, and (if you must) take part in freeze-time combat that sees Vagrants and adversaries plotting actions, then playing them out simultaneously. All the while dealing with lasting injuries, mounting hunger, and rapidly decreasing sanity.

You control everything by means of a flying drone, which makes for some panoramic presentation, with pathetically tiny humanoids in Hazmats scurrying over miles of sickly sand, rock and… skin? Yeah, pretty sure that's skin. Also pretty sure one of your party members has two heads. Look at your minions go, picking a path among lurid fractal meshes, concrete ribcages, and fields of metallic follicles. Hoowee! (hat, sixshooter, etc) I have got to get me some of those fields of metallic follicles!!

From the sounds of it, the overall format is roguelikey. You'll build a party anew on each run, starting with three Vagrants and rescuing others as you find them, together with pack animals and machines. "A larger group provides more skills, tools, and carrying capacity, but it also consumes more resources, produces more noise, and becomes harder to manage," the Steam page cautions. When you wipe out, you'll carry over knowledge of the world, quests, and character relationships, care of a Compendium.

Aside from the developer's given references, the look and vibe remind me a bit of Jett: The Far Shore, which I admired more than I liked, while the simultaneous-turn combat recalls the excellent Arco, with arrow lines to indicate planned movements and attacks.

The only thing that leaves me totally confused is the title abbreviation, which makes me think of the kind of family restaurants where vitamins go to die. Hoowee! I have got to get me some ranch dressing for my Fog'n'Silence!! It doesn't read much like the quest writing visible in the trailer, which might see you picking a Vagrant to take a ride on a huge golden elevator, then deciding whether to send them up or down. Still, the slight tonal disconnect adds to the mystique.

Fog'n'Silence was announced as part of Steam's on-going Ukrainian Games Festival. There are a few others in there I'm minded to write up.