Today, ustwo games and Netflix released Desta: The Memories Between, and gaymers take note: It’s very queer.
The video game follows Desta, a young nonbinary adult who returns home to their small town. Through their dreams, they confront and process their past, particularly relationships with people who were once important in their life. These include former love interests, friends, and Desta’s mother, with whom they have a fraught relationship following the death of their father. But since this is a game and also a dream, those confrontations take place in the form of... dodgeball matches. Just go with it.
Desta: The Memories Between comes from indie game developer ustwo, which previously released BAFTA-winning Monument Valley and critically acclaimed Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. Its ethos is to release progressive games that create meaningful experiences for the player. This is no exception.
“Every night, Desta falls into the mysterious dreamworld, filled with shattered remnants of locations past, memories of regret-filled relationships, and powerful orbs that can change the course of conversation,” the game’s official description reads. “Follow Desta as they meet all sorts of strange and interesting characters with exceptional abilities, each with their own story to tell about their connection to this world.”
Its developer describes the game as “a character-driven rogue-like exploring themes such as self-reflection, loss, regret, and identity – through the eyes of ustwo games’ first non-binary protagonist, Desta.” With the help of non-binary narrative designer Ro Noel Williams, the game’s story focuses on gender identity, sexuality, and queer friendships/relationships.
Courtesy of ustwo
Desta is the studio’s deepest and most replayable title yet, it says, and if you love the game, there will thankfully be more content coming. Players can expect a challenge mode that’s updated weekly, new abilities being added, and even new characters and chapters to the story to appear over time.
The game is available exclusively for all Netflix subscribers and thankfully doesn’t feature any microtransactions. For the best experience, it’s recommended players use a good-sized tablet and wear headphones.
Perhaps best of all, Desta is accessible to all levels of players, so gaming newbies are encouraged to give it a shot, delve into the dreamworld, and process all of their complex feelings/relationships. Yep, this really was made for us queer folks.
Desta: The Memories Between is available now on iOS and Android through the Netflix app’s games section. Watch the trailer below.
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