The pieces have fallen into place for Keystone Publishing, who announced a partnership with Devil’s Peek Game’s The Puzzleverse. Previously named ORB, The Puzzleverse is a 2D puzzler set in a nebular alternate dimension and will be released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
This is a departure for Keystone, whose catalog thus far includes flight simulators such as Arctic Rescue and Discover Australia & New Zealand. Recently, it’s been expanding by making inroads with indie developers, such as Pea Head Games’s Neon Sword and now Devil’s Peek’s The Puzzleverse. Keystone has also been working on developing the game Homicide Detective, a globetrotting murder mystery that was developed with consultation from actual police investigators and homicide specialists.
Keystone isn’t the only company looking to court indie developers. EA announced EA Originals at last year’s E3 conference, its in-house label that seeks to foster and publish indie talent. Indies are also going to be increasingly available on the Nintendo Switch.
Devil’s Peek is a one-man show run by Robert Anderson with occasional help on the soundtrack and video footage from a friend. Anderson cites Keystone’s publishing history as well as philanthropic efforts as the positives in the partnership. “[Keystone’s team] are an incredible bunch of people who not only have huge publishing expertise but have a philanthropic mission to help children with their profits,” Anderson said in a press release. This is Devil’s Peek’s first game, and was greenlit on Steam Greenlight, a community where players can express interest in games still in early development.
The Puzzleverse features topdown gameplay and 12 unlockable abilities for the player’s character, an orb of light that solves puzzles and collects fragments of an otherworldly galaxy in order to escape. According to the Steam Greenlight page, it was originally slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2018.
