A few days ago we interviewed Raúl Rubio Munárriz, creative director at Tequila Works, for the second time (our first chat was back when the studio released Deadlight). Despite being tight-lipped on some things (the full game will be revealed soon), he was kind enough to share with us some new Rime details, mainly with regards to the project's art and gameplay style.
The studio's head explained how Rime combines "feelings of loneliness and discovery of classic films such as Jason and the Argonauts with childhood experience in the Mediterranean coasts". Indeed, there's no combat in Rime, but "you don't feel invincible" and feel progress won't be easy (as a child, you aren't aware of dangers and want to explore everything). Puzzles involve "original elements such as use of light or perspective".
Rime is an open "but contained" world. Rubio underlines that its famous tower "isn't game's ending, but its beginning, one of the many surprises we have for the player". And also on gameplay, "if you like exploration, I think you're going to love Rime. If you like killing monsters, don't expect that (...) we're moving away from Hollywood".
This last comment links to others on the industry as a whole, and a game developer's role when considered beyond the sphere of gaming ("we have a lot to learn from artists").
The full interview (from the Madrid Games Week show) includes references and inspirations both artistically and gameplay-wise, such as Sorolla, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Jak and Daxter "and, above all, The Room". We'll bring you the full interview soon.