There are many live action video games scattered across the market, with the full-motion video scene having picked up massively in recent years. But there’s room for that genre to go beyond your everyday standard gaming fare and when The Gallery launches on Xbox, PlayStation, PC, Switch and mobile devices in April 2022, it’ll be found releasing in cinemas too, giving the audience the chance to play the game as one.
A milestone in the live action video game renaissance, The Gallery will launch on Xbox, PlayStation, PC, Switch, iOS and Android this April, as the team at Aviary Studios go big with their part hostage thriller, part social drama.
Poised to reignite the FMV live action genre, when the game drops, it will also release in UK cinemas where the audience will play the game by majority decision as part of an immersive and participative interactive experience.
The Gallery has been written and directed by Paul Raschid, one of the creative minds behind the likes of The Complex and Five Dates. This time around though Raschid will be delivering a thrilling combination of hostage thriller and social drama with a dash of world film festival cinema aesthetic.
It’s been filmed over a 6 week period back in February and March of 2021, as the game immerses audiences in an interactive experience set in two time periods – 1981 and 2021, both of which are of considerable political, social and cultural significance in UK history, cleverly reflected in the nuanced story. From there, players will face over 150 decision points as they navigate a story full of mystery and intrigue.
As with any FMV though, it’s the cast which is seriously exciting and the one assembled for The Gallery is stellar. It includes George Blagden (Versailles and Vikings); Anna Popplewell (The Chronicles of Narnia); Kara Tointon (Mr. Selfridge and Eastenders); Rebecca Root (The Queen’s Gambit); Richard Fleeshman (The Sandman and Coronation Street), Shannon Tarbet (Killing Eve and Love Sarah) and Fehinti Balogun (I May Destroy You).
The Gallery will launch this April for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and PlayStation consoles, iOS and Android platforms and a UK interactive cinema release. Keep an eye out for it.