If you just watched the trailer for Away From Home and thought, “Huh?” then don’t worry, you’re not alone. There’s a lot going on in this adorable and horrifying indie game shown in a montage during the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, and I’m here to break it all down for you.
Away From Home is an RPG in which you enter a strange dreamland whenever you sleep. Playing as Abby, you’ll walk through a charming overworld with her brother Michael and then enter a rhythm game mode when you need to battle with the denizens of this mysterious new world.
During one of the fights—set in a boxing ring, because why not?—Abby transforms into a muscle-clad giant. It’s very Love Lies Bleeding. During another battle, we see that just her left arm has been buffed up, and she uses it to deliver a devastating punch.
Other fights take place on what appear to be show stages, with one contender looking suspiciously like Johnny Bravo. And one has fried eggs flying past in the background. It’s a wild ride, the perfect encapsulation of all the weird and random locales and personalities you meet when you’re asleep.
What’s the same across all fights is the need to hit your attack buttons in time with the beat. The music is fast, spooky, and a little bit 8-bit—I dig it.
But why are you fighting people? Well, your very presence in this world has been noticed by something. Maybe that mysterious skeleton in a hat that flashes up right at the end of the trailer? Your actions will either help or harm the world around you, so make sure you make the right choices.
Away From Home launches tomorrow, December 5. You can wishlist it on Steam to make sure you remember to get it if ethereal, rhythm-based RPGs are your bag.
Once you’ve figured out what’s going on in dreamland, check out everything announced during the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted: Powered by Xbox Game Pass.