Fire-themed new hand-crafted adventure unveiled by Petums, creator of Papetura
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Papetura was one of the most charming surprises of 2021, introducing players to a beautiful, painstakingly hand-crafted world of paper filled with bugs and other critters. The next game from Tomasz Ostafin’s indie studio Petums is not a sequel, but the upcoming Pirofauna looks to be another delightful paper adventure, but with hot new twist – literally.
Normally fire is the enemy of both flora and fauna, but here it’s actually a friend, perhaps even a kind of god. Legend tells of a mystical fire entity that appears on rare occasions, to be treated as a deity whenever it appears. You are just such a little sentient flame who now finds itself alone in a “dark misty forest.” The worms and insect creatures revere you as an idol, but sometimes they “fear and avoid [you],, sometimes they invite [you] into the village or ask for help.” You must use your special ability to ingite controlled burns of anything you can reach with your tail in order to “light up the darkness, help lost and frightened bugs, dispel unfriendly creatures” and prove yourself worthy of their adoration.
As with its predecessor, Pirofauna features a stunning hand-made world made by “cutting and gluing together various types of paper.” Here, however, the presentation adds a third dimension to give exploration additional depth. The premise is inspired by the developer’s own “fascination with fireworks, and the bugs in the game by real species encountered on forest paths, with their own character and habits.” While Ostafin is still contemplating exactly what direction the game should take, his goal is to “fill the gloomy, foggy forest with life, with villages of worms whose inhabitants will have a lot of stories to tell.” You’ll learn more of the forest’s story as you progress along your journey, accompanied by another atmospheric soundtrack by composer Tomas Dvorak, perhaps best known by gamers for his work with Amanita Design.
We’re probably a fair way off from seeing Pirofauna released on Steam for Windows and Mac, as it takes time to build such a meticulous world of physical props. Thankfully the developer promises that it will “not take as long” as the seven years it took Papetura to be completed. Whew! To learn more about the game in the meantime, be sure to keep an eye on the official website.