Little Orpheus
Developer The Chinese Room
Publisher Sumo Digital
Format iOS
Release Out now
For both developer and protagonist, The Chinese Room’s latest is a brave leap into unknown territory. Sent to the centre of the Earth inside an atomic-powered drill, hapless cosmonaut Ivan Ivanovich returns three years later to explain his lengthy disappearance, relaying a fanciful yarn to an impatient Soviet interrogator. What follows is a lighthearted shaggy dog story: a romp that pays homage to vintage adventure serials through the lens of a Playdead-lite puzzle-platformer, with a vibrant aesthetic and humorous tone that most obviously recalls Journey To The Savage Planet. When Ivanovich finds himself perched on a tree branch, encased within a giant egg that’s being side-eyed by a hungry T-Rex, we’re forced to pause and ask ourselves: is this really from the folk who brought us Dear Esther?