Press release:
London, United Kingdom – September 5th, 2018 – BAFTA Young Game Designer winner, Dan Smith, and publisher, Ripstone Games, are proud to bring its acclaimed sci-fi puzzler The Spectrum Retreat to the Nintendo Switch eShop on September 13th, where it will cost £9.99 / €12.99 / $12.99. The Spectrum Retreat will be available in Europe and North America, with a release in Germany and Russia to follow later in 2018.
The Spectrum Retreat is the brainchild of Dan Smith, who won the BAFTA Young Game Designers Award in 2016 for his first-person puzzler prototype when he was only 18 years old. Since then, Ripstone’s internal development team has partnered with Smith to evolve his award-winning prototype into a trippy, art deco-inspired sci-fi adventure.
The Spectrum Retreat puts players in the role of a guest at the peculiar, pristine hotel, The Penrose, where nothing is as it seems. You’ve been here as long as you can remember, with no idea why, and it’s up to you to solve the mystery of this uncanny resort. To do this, you’ll have to solve a series of increasingly complex colour-coded puzzles in an effort to uncover the true purpose of The Penrose.
Having launched on PS4, Xbox One, and PC in July, The Spectrum Retreat received rave reviews from Gamereactor, Trusted Reviews, and The Xbox Hub.
“Developing The Spectrum Retreat took up nearly a quarter of my life,” said Developer and Designer Dan Smith. “Launching it earlier this year was a massive moment for me and I’m delighted that Nintendo Switch owners will finally get a chance to experience it.”
“The Spectrum Retreat was a real labour of love for both Dan and everyone at Ripstone who believed in his vision” said Matt Southern, Head of Development at Ripstone Games. “What began as a clever puzzle game expanded into a rich, contemplative narrative about the role of technology in an ever complex society and we’re thrilled to bring it to Nintendo Switch.”
Visit The Spectrum Retreat webpage on the Ripstone website: https://ripstone.com/game/the-spectrum-retreat
For more information about the BAFTA Young Game Designers please check out http://ygd.bafta.org
About Dan Smith
Dan Smith Studios is an independent game development studio, represented by Dan Smith. Founded in 2016, its first focus has been on the development of first person puzzle game The Spectrum Retreat, which is due for a 2018 release for PC and consoles. Dan Smith is a BAFTA YGD Game Making Award winner and Computer Science student at the University of Leeds. He is based mainly in Newcastle and Leeds, England.
About Ripstone Games
Ripstone® is a global independent video games label founded in 2011 by game and film industry veterans. They fully fund the development, distribution and marketing of video games made by elite creative teams. They have financed and published 17 games across 45 SKUs, with global sales of over 10 million units.
Ripstone’s back catalogue includes Ironcast, Stick It To The Man, Pure Pool, Pure Hold’em and Chess Ultra. At their home in Liverpool, England they also have a world-class internal development team, whose credits include Plague Inc, Chess Ultra and The Spectrum Retreat.
The whole company focuses on providing a total, personal support service for developers, empowering them to make the very best PC and console games, ensuring gamers know about them, then rewarding the teams for success. They are particularly noted for their outstanding ability to nurture new and small developers. www.ripstone.com
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Jonas “O.J” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround
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Tags: Dan Smith Studios, Indie games, Nintendo Switch, Ripstone Games, Switch, The Spectrum Retreat