I’m not going to lie: I completely forgot about Dordogne between November 2022’s Nintendo Indie World showcase and today’s release date announcement. I’m a little surprised that I did, because it sounds like the exact type of game I’m interested in playing: a narrative adventure about living life to its fullest. Today, a June release date was announced for the game.
Play as Mimi, a 32-year-old woman who is visiting the house of her recently deceased grandmother. Mimi spend her childhood summers at the house in Dordogne, and her grandmother collected souvenirs in the forms of letters and puzzles to solve. These souvenirs are meant to remind Mimi to make the most out of life.
Dordogne is set in the present and in the past. In the present, Mimi explores rooms in her grandmother’s house. In the past, 10-year-old Mimi explores Dordogne and needs to complete quests that affect the present. Both versions of Mimi will have to solve puzzles. Collect photos, sounds, objects, and words that add up to Mimi’s journal, which keeps Mimi’s memories of summers past.
The narrative is a wholesome family story that gives players a glimpse at the close relationship between Mimi and her grandmother through touching gameplay moments. The developers hope that this enables players to remember their own positive childhood memories. The puzzles and mysteries require players to be resourceful and patient (oh no, I have zero patience).
The environments of Dordogne has been faithfully recreated in watercolour, and will be discovered through young Mimi’s quests through forest walks, climbing, cave explorations, and more. Pictures, objects, sounds, and words will be collected to create Mimi’s journal, which is unique to each playthrough.
Developed by Un Je Ne Sais Quoi and published by Focus Entertainment, Dordogne will be released for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One on June 13.
Yay!! One of my most anticipated games of the year, no lie. My Top 4 are Zelda, FF16, SF6, and Dordogne. So happy to see this release date. The aesthetic of the game speaks to my soul. Playing in the early summer sounds perfect.
It really does look like a lovely game. It’s been flying under my radar but I’ll keep an eye out for it from here.
I’ll be switching audio to French for sure, to make the experience more like interacting with an Eric Rohmer film, haha…
I love this, I’m going to have to do the same!