Join the circus and swing an election in Moves of the Diamond Hand, the RPG follow-up to Betrayal at Club Low, which hits PC early access in April

The two launch chapters are apparently bigger than all Cosmo D's prior works

Cosmo D's heady jazz noir RPG Moves Of The Diamond Hand will launch into Steam Early Access on April 13th, the day after I return from holiday. You don't need to hear about my holiday plans, which involve scree slopes and deterioriating knee cartilage. You do need to hear about Moves of the Diamond Hand. It's the grander follow-up to Betrayal At Club Low, which Alice O (RPS in peace) called "a delicious snack-sized espionage RPG". The early access launch will feature the first two chapters of the full game. They apparently "surpass the size and scope of all Cosmo D's previous titles to-date." Trailer? Go on then.

Moves Of The Diamond Hand is a "one city block RPG" – a concept introduced by Deus Ex designer Warren Spector, who once dreamed of a game "where we simulate one building, one city block perfectly." Perfection is all in the eye of the beholder, and I'm pretty sure Spector's definition doesn't involve any prowling cyclops lions or giant, flexing Venus flytraps. Still, I expect fans of Cosmo D's prior grotesques will take it in their stride. It's certainly in keeping with the plot objective of infiltrating some weird circus.

"You’re on a quest to become a part of the legendary Circus X - an actual circus and artist crew of the highest caliber - in a bid to mint your destiny," the press release explains. "However, Circus X isn’t hiring and there’s plenty of people who also want a piece of their magic (and money). To become part of this elite crew, you'll need to figure out a way in. Sure, they’ll find leads, but they’ll also find trouble…"

The circus neighbourhood is awash with peculiar folk, all of whom have agendas and secrets. There's also a mayoral election underway, with candidates including a clone of a mayor who died a century ago, and then there is the titular Diamond Hand, a fidgeting saboteur who may, in fact, be that massive hand behind the buildings in the trailer. Be ye collaborator, or pawn? And do you like dice? Because everything in this game from your character stats to the donning of disguises involves throwing the bones. I hope you're keen on jazz, too.

Nic Reuben (also RPS in peace) had a go of Diamond Hand's demo last year, and was moved to write these words: "It was a hectic, disorientating, wonderful time that saw my character taking frequent damage to mind, body and probably soul performing simple tasks." He also managed to bake a lush low poly pizza, which is a grievous blow, because now I want one. The demo is still around, if you're interested - it'll shortly be updated to mark the early access date announcement. If you've already sampled it, perhaps I can lure you with Nic's follow-up interview about Cosmo D's favourite books, none of which are openly concerned with pizza.