Mention the names Steve Ellis and David Doak to any veteran gamer, and titles like GoldenEye 007 and TimeSplitters will almost certainly spring to mind.
The former Rare duo now run Mindfuel Games, and have just announced their next title, which (on the surface, at least), looks to us like Balatro meets Scrabble.
"Word strategy roguelike" Beyond Words is described by publisher PQube as "an entirely new kind of challenge that tests vocabulary, creativity and tactical thinking. Build powerful word-combos, unlock upgrades and journey through a living puzzle shaped by your decisions. Every choice, every letter, every placement matters."
I've been lucky enough to have early access to the game, and it's certainly shaping up to be everything that's promised above.
The universal appeal of Scrabble needs little introduction, but by combining it with Balatro-style perks, challenges and modifiers, Ellis and Doak have concocted a heady brew which could end up being just as addictive as LocalThunk's breakout smash-hit.
Doak had this to say about the announcement:
“In a small dev team, there is the opportunity to experiment and iterate – we truly believe that is the way to ‘find the fun’ and make a great game. Beyond Words is all about choice and agency. We’ve made a game that is constantly challenging and evolving with the player’s interactions – full of surprises and opportunities to be clever. As developers, our guiding star has always been to make games that we want to play.”
Beyond Words is coming to PC and consoles early next year. A demo is available on Steam now.