First details trumpet the development of Sonority

Written by Jack Allin — September 6, 2020 at 09:12

It's hard to put one's finger on, but there just seems to be something magical about the power of music. This will be even more true – very tangibly so – in indie German developer Hanging Gardens Interactive's upcoming Sonority.

While story details are intentionally sparse, the game is set in a world that has "lapsed into silence." The protagonist is Esther, a "young girl who has made it her task to unveil the secrets of music." Rather than an attempt to save the world, however, this personal quest is all about "helping a friend." Armed only with her panpipes, Esther "arrives at the mysterious rockery, where she will have to use her wits to pass test after test by creating melodies." Along the way she will encounter some of the former inhabitants, but the question is, "will the legendary preceptors of music be at her side?"

Inspired by games like Portal, The Talos Principle and The Legend of Zelda, Sonority is presented in a charming isometric art style that takes players through what appears to be an ancient, decaying temple and its immediate surroundings. The gameplay is all about solving environmental puzzles with  melodies in order to cause physical effects like raising and rotating platforms. While initially these puzzles will "consist of simple tone sequences," as the game progresses the challenge will increase as the player "creates more and more complex melodies and writes their own soundtrack to the game." Designer Ralf Neubauer, however, assures those who lack a finely tuned ear that Sonority is not just for experienced musicians but rather "for players who have never made music themselves and everyone in between." The message here, above all else, is that "everyone is a musician."

While there is no firm launch date just yet, Sonority is currently on pace to be completed sometime in the second quarter of 2021 for PC, with development of console ports to begin after that. To follow the game's progress in the meantime, be sure to drop by the official website.