Mosaic is the third game from Norwegian developer Krillbite Studio, which brings to mind games like Inside with a subdued tone. The style is similar: shades of gray and brown are punctuated by flashes of bright colors in a dilapidated, sprawling city populated by faceless citizens in suits walking the streets to and from their jobs. First presented to the public at GDC 2018, it was possible to play the game and chat with the developer from the Krillbite studio. The short demo puts players in the shoes of an unnamed protagonist who is about to work in a boring corporate dystopia. The gloom is broken several times by a distraction, a cat running through a hole in the fence, or a lengthy and surreal dream sequence involving a glowing butterfly. Topics are heavy but familiar, focused on the realities of life in today’s technological landscape.

Game process.

But while the torrented game Mosaic has a visual style of play like Inside, the gameplay is definitely more narrative than puzzle-driven and focuses on telling an adventure story through a dystopia more than challenging the player through puzzle design. As you stroll through the streets, the camera plays a top and side view, receiving occasional notifications from your in-game phone along a path that can be navigated with the arrow buttons and face as long as you keep walking down with the joystick. Developer Thorstein Vien said in an interview that the game’s oppressive atmosphere was partly inspired by members of their 10-member team who moved from the more rural areas of Norway to the more populous capital Oslo. Mosaic is the studio’s third title after Sleeping in 2014, and Vien told me Mosaic started production about three years ago, shortly after the previous game’s release. During the demo, the player can always access your in-game phone, which will periodically send messages reminding you that you’re late for work, or sponsored newscasts praising various mega-corporations. Playing the game while in San Francisco, where Lyft ads are as ubiquitous as closed storefronts, Mosaic’s satirical slant is in place.

System requirements

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel i3
• RAM: 1024 MB RAM
• Video card: Geforce GTX 860-series / RX vega 11
• DirectX: Versions 9.0c
• Disk space: 3 GB
• Sound Card: Yes