Annapurna Interactive has no shortage of quite atypical indie games (like stray soon) in its catalog. Today we are talking about Thirty Suitors, a very colorful game developed by Outerloop Games. We were able to attend a presentation with a few developers to present it to you in more detail.
Jala vs The World
Thirty Suitors is an adventure game that will make us embody Jala, a young girl in full introspection who has to deal with demanding parents and vengeful ex-boyfriends when she returns home for her sister’s wedding. The title is described as a game mixing culture, relationships, family pressures and asserting oneself.
The title mixes several game mechanics starting with phases of exploration in skateboarding. Don’t expect anything as deep as a Tony Hawk as you won’t be able to miss the tricks. Rather, it should be seen as a nice way to get around. The narration, and the personal development of Jala, will have a big place in the progression.
During the demo that was unveiled to us, we were able to see a skate phase in a dreamlike universe where Jala, accompanied by a voice in her head acting as a narrator, answered various quizzes on what she would do in this or that situation. Questions that will not only shape the character of the heroine, but above all her skills and abilities.
J-RPG style turn-based combat
Even if we did not observe many phases of exploration (which we promise richer than what we saw), the fights proved to be much more intriguing. We were thus able to observe a first confrontation one of the bosses of the game, Sergio one of Jala’s exes. It’s more strictly speaking about psychological fights where you have to exploit the flaws of your opponent.
We are also on a turn-based basis like a JRPG with classic attacks, taunts, skills and items. Against Sergio, Jala uses a taunt to seduce and drastically weaken him. We are thus entitled to unique animations and dialogues giving a very linear flow. It is also a question of managing the timings to block the opposing offensives in particular.
During the second phase of the boss (yes he has one), we still find an influence on the Japanese role-playing game with a rather special invocation since she calls her own mother armed with a chappal in her hand. Later in the game, Jala will even have to face several opponents simultaneously in some 1 vs 3.
The kitchen should also have a large place with dishes that can help you impress your mother or ease tensions. Again, we can expect extravagant animations to cook recipes mainly from South Asia. Last precision for soundtrack lovers, know that the music is composed by Ramsey Kharroubi who has already proven himself on Boyfriend Dungeon.
Thirty Suitors is expected on PC via Steam at an unknown date.