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Goodbye Volcano High

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Goodbye Volcano High
Developer(s)KO_OP
Publisher(s)KO_OP
Director(s)
  • Kyle McKernan
  • Saleem Dabbous
Designer(s)
  • Kyle McKernan
  • Samuel Boucher
Programmer(s)
  • Hope Erin Phillips
  • Jacob Blommestein
Artist(s)
  • Ellen Alsop
  • Lucie Viatge
Writer(s)
  • Jenna Yow
  • Kyle McKernan
Composer(s)Omar Dabbous
EngineUnity[1]
Platform(s)
ReleaseAugust 29, 2023
Genre(s)Narrative adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Goodbye Volcano High is a narrative adventure game by KO_OP. It was announced on June 11, 2020, and was released on August 29, 2023 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows.

Gameplay

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The player selects dialogue choices, and controls rhythm minigames during performances by band Worm Drama.[2]

Plot

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Set in a world of anthropomorphic dinosaurs, the game centers on the members of the band Worm Drama; the non-binary lead vocalist Fang the pterodactyl (Lachlan Watson),[3] guitarist Trish the triceratops (Ozioma Akagha)[4] and drummer Reed the velociraptor (Mark Whitten),[4] alongside the school's student council president Naomi the parasaurolophus (Allegra Clark)[4] and Fang's brother Naser (Abe Bueno-Jallad),[4] - as they venture through the highs and lows of their final year as Volcano High seniors with graduation looming over the horizon while coming to terms with their own impending extinction from an asteroid.

Development and release

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The game was initially announced during PlayStation's "Future of Gaming" online presentation on 11 June 2020, with a release window of 2021.[5][6][7] In August 2021, KO_OP announced a delay of Goodbye Volcano High's release until sometime in 2022. The developers wanted to avoid crunch related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and had already brought in a new writing team from Sweet Baby Inc. in June 2020 to reboot the game's entire narrative direction.[8][9][10] The new narrative direction was largely inspired by the experiences of high school seniors graduating during the pandemic.[11] In November 2022, the game was delayed to 2023.[12] A new gameplay trailer premiered during a PlayStation "State of Play" presentation on 23 February 2023, announcing a release date of 15 June[13] but was delayed to 29 August.[14] Prior to release, demos of the game were showcased at the 2023 Game Developers Conference as part of the "Day of the Devs" selection,[15] PAX East 2023, and at the 2023 Tribeca Festival as part of the "Games & Immersive Experience" selection.[16]

Reception

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Following the revamped game's showing at PAX East 2023, it was positively received by critics. Kyle LeClair of Hardcore Gamer praised the game, saying its rhythm game elements had the "perfect level of challenge", and that its music was "ear-pleasing". He called the character designs "striking", praising Fang as a "terrific and likeable protagonist" with "great voice acting", and predicting it would be a "deep and unique tale".[11] Rachel Watts of Rock Paper Shotgun wrote that she "had a great time with the demo", comparing it to the adventure game Life Is Strange.[22]

In June 2021, Cavemanon created Snoot Game, an "anti-fangame" intended as a rival version of the game, which was described by a KO_OP developer as "not made in good faith".[23]

Awards

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Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2023 Tribeca Festival Tribeca Games Award Won [24]
IndieCade Grand Jury Award Won [25]
Performance Spotlight Award Won
Narrative Spotlight Award Nominated
The Game Awards 2023 Games for Impact Nominated [26]
2024 GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Video Game Nominated [27]
Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Grand Prize Honorable mention [28]
Excellence in Narrative Honorable mention
Excellence in Visual Arts Honorable mention
British Academy Games Awards Game Beyond Entertainment Nominated [29]
World Soundtrack Awards Game Music Award Pending [30]

References

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  1. ^ Saver, Michael; Pung, Julia; Stanton, Devon (4 January 2024). "Made with Unity: 2023 in review". Unity Technologies. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  2. ^ Moore, Bo (23 February 2023). "Goodbye Volcano High Gets June Release Date". IGN. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. ^ Harrison, Will (11 June 2020). "Goodbye Volcano High Has A Real 'Life Is Strange Meets Dinosaurs' Vibe, Coming To PS5". PlayStation Lifestyle. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d @KOOPMode (23 February 2023). "We revealed some voice actors in our most recent trailer!!! We have @OziomaAkagha as Trish, @mpwhitten as Reed, @SimplyAllegra as Naomi, and Abe Bueno-Jallad as Naser!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Wilde, Tyler (11 June 2020). "Goodbye Volcano High will probably make a few of us cry". PC Gamer. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Goodbye Volcano High Is A Dose Of Teenage Angst For The PS5". GameSpot. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  7. ^ O'Connor, Alice (12 June 2020). "Goodbye Volcano High has all your teen drama, plus dinosaurs". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  8. ^ Murray, Sean (18 August 2021). "Goodbye Volcano High Delayed Until 2022". The Gamer. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  9. ^ Romano, Sal (18 August 2021). "Goodbye Volcano High delayed to 2022, narrative reboot announced". Gematsu. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  10. ^ Beckhelling, Imogen (19 August 2021). "Dino teen drama Goodbye Volcano High delayed to next year". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  11. ^ a b LeClair, Kyle (7 April 2023). "PAX East 2023: Goodbye Volcano High, Hello Narrative Gem". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  12. ^ Romano, Sal (30 November 2022). "Goodbye Volcano High delayed to summer 2023". Gematsu. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  13. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (23 February 2023). "Goodbye Volcano High Releases In June". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  14. ^ Romano, Sal (11 May 2023). "Goodbye Volcano High delayed to August 29". Gematsu. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Games - Day of the Devs". dayofthedevs.com. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Goodbye Volcano High at 2023 Tribeca Festival". Twitter. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Goodbye Volcano High for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Goodbye Volcano High for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  19. ^ Ong, Alexis (7 September 2023). "Goodbye Volcano High review - killer tunes soundtrack a teen drama for the ages". Eurogamer. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  20. ^ Watts, Rachel (3 September 2023). "Goodbye Volcano High review: 'A bittersweet teen drama about mourning a lost future'". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  21. ^ LeClair, Kyle (12 September 2023). "Review: Goodbye Volcano High". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  22. ^ Watts, Rachel (24 March 2023). "RPS@PAX 2023: Life Is Strange meets We Are OFK in dino visual novel Goodbye Volcano High". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  23. ^ Laybolt, Noah (2 November 2022). "The Anti-Fan Game: PlayStation Developer Defies 4chan Harassment Troll Project". Kotaku. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  24. ^ "Tribeca Festival Announces 2023 Competition Winners". Tribecafilm.com. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  25. ^ "IndieCade Festival 2023 Award Winners". IndieCade.com. 4 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  26. ^ Stewart, Marcus (27 October 2023). "Here Are The Nominees For The Game Awards 2023". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  27. ^ Gardner, Chris (17 January 2024). "GLAAD Media Awards: 'Fellow Travelers,' 'All of Us Strangers,' 'Bottoms' and Ice Spice Among Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  28. ^ Panecasio, Steph (21 March 2024). "IGF Awards 2024: All the winners and finalists". www.gameshub.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  29. ^ "2024 BAFTA Games Awards: Game Beyond Entertainment". BAFTA Games Awards. 7 March 2024. Archived from the original on 7 March 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  30. ^ "Vote for the WSA Game Music Award 2024!". World Soundtrack Awards. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
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