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Season: A Letter to the Future

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Season: A Letter to the Future
Developer(s)Scavengers Studio
Publisher(s)Scavengers Studio
Director(s)Kevin Sullivan
Platform(s)
ReleaseJanuary 31, 2023
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Season: A Letter to the Future[a] is a 2023 adventure game developed and published by Scavengers Studio. The player controls a young woman from a small village documenting the world as it comes to an end. The game was released in January 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows.

Season received generally positive reviews from critics for its writing and art style.

Gameplay

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In Season, the player controls Estelle, a woman traveling the world, as she records her experiences in her journal. She can document her sightings by writing, drawing, taking photos, and recording audio and videos. The game also features extended bicycling segments. When Estelle dismounts, she can interact with non-player characters and share her findings with them.[1][2]

Plot

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Season follows the story of Estelle, a young woman who leaves her isolated home for the first time to create a record of the world for the next generation before a mysterious cataclysm wipes everything away.

Development

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Scavengers Studio was founded in 2015 in Canada and previously published Darwin Project before moving on to Season. According to Scavengers CEO Amélie Lamarche, "I really wanted the studio to build a game that is unique in its genre, accessible to a wide audience, and leads players into a striking story, elegant and fully felt. Kevin presented this idea to me at the right time and the universe it offered immediately charmed me. Season's creative direction pushes the boundaries of anything I’ve seen so far. It is a quest for adventures of astonishing beauty, but also full of the unexpected."[3]

Development was stalled after multiple current and former Scavengers Studio employees accused studio co-founder Simon Darveau of hostile workplace behavior during the development of both Season and Darwin Project. In response, the studio issued several measures to protect employees from further harassment.[4]

Marketing and release

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Season was first revealed at The Game Awards 2020.[5] On June 2, 2022, a new trailer for Season was shown on at a Sony State of Play presentation, showing a release window for Autumn 2022 and now including the subtitle A Letter to the Future.[6] However, the development team later posted on the game's official blog that it had been delayed to early 2023.[7][8] In October 2022, the development team released a demo for the game playable at Steam Next Fest.[9]

In December 2022, Scavengers Studio revealed a new release date for January 31, 2023.[10]

Reception

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Season: A Letter to the Future received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[11][12]

In Rock Paper Shotgun's review of the game, Rachel Watts praised the storytelling, writing "The way its story unfolds feels highly engrossing, like watching a photograph slowly develop until you have a complete picture of this curious, beautiful place."[27] Writing for The Verge, Andrew Webster said, "I felt just like the main character: venturing out into the great unknown, constantly surprised and amazed by what I found."[28] Vikki Blake of Eurogamer praised the atmosphere and scrapbooking mechanics, but criticized the bike controls and the inability to create multiple save files.[29]

The game's art direction was also the subject of praise. Watts described the world as "bloody gorgeous",[27] while Vice wrote that the setting was "as dense and beautiful as it is fleeting" and the world design "makes the act of photographing the dying valley a melancholy joy."[30]

The Guardian liked the biking mechanics and the camera, but criticized the world the protagonist explored, saying the world "feels less like a real place and more like an amalgam of cultural influences scrubbed of their real-world significance".[23] GameSpot praised how much of the story and content was optional, giving the player freedom to decide what was meaningful to them, "It also acts like an insightful mirror, reflecting back onto the player not just what they experienced, but how they interpreted it".[16]

Sales

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By June 2023, Season: A Letter to the Future had sold 60,000 units, which was deemed a commercial failure for Scavengers Studio. This resulted in layoffs at the developer sixth months after release, leaving only 16 employees left.[31]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Result Ref
2020 Ubisoft Indie Series 2020 Special Prize Won [32]
2021 2021 NYX Game Awards PC Game - Best Visual Art Won [33]
2021 Xsolla XDC Contest Canada Special Prize Won [34]
2022 indiePlay China Game Award Best Overseas Game Won [35]
2023 Webby Awards 2023 Independent Creator Won [36]
Best Art Direction Nominated

Notes

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  1. ^ Stylized as SEASON: A letter to the future

References

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  1. ^ Hutchison, Meg (June 2, 2022). "Discover the gameplay and story of Season: a Letter to the Future". PlayStation.Blog. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  2. ^ Beane, Christian (June 8, 2022). "Season: A Letter to the Future Release Date". Dbltap.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  3. ^ "Media". Play Season. Scavengers Studio.
  4. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (January 25, 2021). "Scavengers Studio creative director accused of belittling, screaming at, groping employees". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  5. ^ Miranda, Felicia (December 10, 2020). "The Game Awards 2020: Every Game Announcement and Reveal". IGN. Archived from the original on November 17, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  6. ^ Grodt, Jill (June 2, 2022). "Stunning Indie Game Season: A Letter To The Future Coming This Fall". Game Informer. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  7. ^ Romano, Sal (July 29, 2022). "SEASON: A letter to the future delayed to Q1 2023". Gematsu. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  8. ^ Adam, Khayl (July 31, 2022). "Serene Cycling Game Season: A Letter to the Future Has Been Delayed". Push Square. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  9. ^ Chalk, Andy (October 3, 2022). "Steam Next Fest returns with hundreds of new demos and dev streams". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022.
  10. ^ Conditt, Jessica (December 8, 2022). "'Season: A letter to the future' is a solo cycling adventure coming to PC and PlayStation January 31st". Engadget. Archived from the original on December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "SEASON: A letter to the future for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "SEASON: A letter to the future for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  13. ^ Andriessen, CJ (January 26, 2023). "Review: SEASON: A letter to the future". Destructoid. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  14. ^ Colantonio, Giovanni (January 26, 2023). "Season: A Letter to the Future review: an unforgettable meditation on memory". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  15. ^ Summer, Samara (January 26, 2023). "Season im Test: Das PlayStation-Exklusive hat uns trotz seichtem Gameplay tief berührt" [Season in the test: The PlayStation exclusive touched us deeply despite the shallow gameplay]. GamePro (in German). Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Delaney, Mark (January 26, 2023). "Season: A Letter To The Future Review - The Meditation Game". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  17. ^ Loveridge, Sam (January 26, 2023). "Season: A Letter to the Future review: "As beautiful as it is quaint"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  18. ^ Tiraxa (January 28, 2023). "Season : Ce jeu PS5 inattendu qui sort des sentiers battus va réellement vous étonner !" [Season: This unexpected off-the-beaten-track PS5 game will truly amaze you!]. Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  19. ^ Greer, Sam (February 3, 2023). "Season: A Letter to the Future review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  20. ^ Flores, Natalie (January 26, 2023). "Season: A Letter to the Future is one of the best games I've played in years". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  21. ^ Banas, Graham (January 26, 2023). "Mini Review: Season: A Letter to the Future (PS5) - Fascinating Exploration Amid a Cataclysm". Push Square. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  22. ^ Erskine, Donovan (January 26, 2023). "Season: A Letter to the future review: If I could turn back time". Shacknews. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Hetfeld, Malindy (January 26, 2023). "Season review – atmospheric road trip game with a muddled message". The Guardian. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  24. ^ Verbrugge, Kieron (January 26, 2023). "SEASON: A Letter To The Future Review – An Unforgetable Experience". Press Start Australia. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  25. ^ Gordon, Rob (January 26, 2023). "SEASON: A Letter To The Future Review - Heartfelt Records Of A Time Lost". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  26. ^ "Review: Famitsu review scores – February 8, 2023". Famitsu. February 8, 2023. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  27. ^ a b Watts, Rachel (January 26, 2023). "Season: A Letter To The Future review: a melancholy travelogue of a gorgeous post-war world". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  28. ^ Webster, Andrew (January 26, 2023). "Season: A Letter to the Future is a soothing bike ride through the end of the world". The Verge. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  29. ^ Blake, Vikki (January 26, 2023). "Season: A Letter to the Future review - a thoughtful premise with some minor snags". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  30. ^ Price, Renata (January 26, 2023). "Scrapbooking at the End of the World in 'SEASON'". Vice. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  31. ^ Dealessandri, Marie (June 26, 2023). "Over half of Scavengers Studio laid off". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  32. ^ "2020 Edition". Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  33. ^ "2021 Winners". Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  34. ^ "Winners of Xsolla's XDC Contest Canada announced". June 9, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  35. ^ "2022 indiePlay China Game Award". Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  36. ^ "Top Games". Webby Awards. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
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