The Overcooked team releases a new adorable cooperative horror game titled Stage Fright.
Stage Fright brings chaos in the style of Overcooked to a series of escape rooms, set in a disturbing world reminiscent of Luigi's Mansion.
An indie studio known for its work on the Overcooked series, Ghost Town Games, has announced that it is developing a new game titled Stage Fright, which will feature support for both online and couch co-op gameplay. This project will be published by Hello Games, the studio behind No Man's Sky, marking its first foray into publishing titles from other studios.
Stage Fright focuses on cooperative gameplay, transferring the frantic style of Overcooked to a series of escape room-like environments in a spooky world reminiscent of Luigi's Mansion. While a release date has not yet been established, it is already possible to add it to the wishlist on Steam.
Overcooked and its sequel have revitalized the cooperative genre in recent years, offering a culinary experience that is much more fun and chaotic when played with friends. While Overcooked allows for couch co-op, its sequel introduced online play. Stage Fright represents the evolution of what Ghost Town Games has learned about cooperative gameplay thanks to Overcooked.
Tim Woodley, publishing lead at Hello Games, explained that "there was nothing that felt like Overcooked when it came out, and Stage Fright is equally innovative, but in a completely different direction." The core team at Ghost Town Games consists of just three people: founders Oli De-Vine and Phil Duncan, along with writer Gemma Langford. They are developing Stage Fright under the codename Project Attic, as they are literally creating it in their attic, with a total of six additional contributors mentioned on their website.
The bond between Ghost Town Games and Hello Games has been forged over the years. After Hello Games’ success with Joe Danger in 2010, the studio helped connect Ghost Town with Team17, the eventual publisher of Overcooked. Woodley recalled, "Phil and Oli came to visit us to ask for advice on the first Overcooked demo about ten years ago. We fondly remember the four founders of Hello playing that demo and shouting at each other about onions; it was clear that this was something special."
Hello Games is also developing Light No Fire, a cooperative survival and exploration game set on a fantasy planet the size of Earth, combining RPG and sandbox mechanics. Despite its debut as a third-party publisher with Stage Fright, Hello Games does not intend to change its focus towards publishing permanently. Woodley remarked, "Hello Games has a lot of experience that we can offer behind the scenes, but honestly, we’re excited to work with creative people we enjoy spending time with."
More information about Stage Fright is expected to be revealed in the next 12 months.
