Twin Peaks is a fan game with some big shoes to fill. The original TV series and its subsequent 1992 film both spawned an ardent following of fans referred to as Peakies, who are still buying up the T-shirts and brooches and exclaiming “damn fine coffee” whenever they get a chance. It’s a long-running testament to the power of a well-made show, and now it could have a new way into players’ homes thanks to a French developer called Blue Rose Team.
The developers have released a demo of their reimagining of the cult TV show on Itch, and it looks like it’s going to be one of those games that will capture the off-kilter, dreamy, something-is-wrong-but-I-can’t-say-what feel that made the series so popular. The demo is free to download, so if you’re a die-hard Twin Peaks fan and have some spare space on your hard drive, you can give it a try right now.
Created as a “homage to good old 90s games classic”, the demo sports that throwback PSX graphics style we’re seeing more of these days, and has tank controls that are perfect for exploring the noir-ish world of Twin Peaks. Set on February 24th, 1989, the game opens with a body wrapped in plastic being discovered by a river, and special agent Dale Cooper is called to investigate. Upon his arrival, mysterious events begin to occur in the town of Twin Peaks.
Hotelier Ben Horne is attempting to destroy the town’s lumber mill along with its owner, Josie Packard, and murder her sister-in-law Catherine Martell in order to purchase the land for a development project known as Ghostwood. His sultry, troubled daughter Audrey becomes infatuated with Cooper and begins spying on him for clues.
As he explores, the player can natter to Diane via her tape recorder, talk to residents of Twin Peaks and listen in on their conversations, and examine the body of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. The game also contains some light puzzle elements as well as the ability to interact with characters, all of which is captured in that distinctive cinematic style that’s so integral to the show.
Ultimately, it’s the dialogue and atmosphere that make Twin Peaks such a successful series, and this demo makes it clear that Into the Night aims to replicate those aspects of the show. With the promise of a full release in the future, this is one demo that you won’t want to miss out on.
Twin Peaks: Into the Night is available to play now on Itch, and will be released for PC in the future. It’s worth noting that the developers stress they are not affiliated with David Lynch or Mark Frost, and that neither of them have been involved in the creation of this reimagining of the cult classic.
The ’90s were an interesting time for television, and with the rise of a new generation came shows such as Twin Peaks that would go on to become cult classics. Directed by filmmaker and director David Lynch, the series followed the inhabitants of a quaint northwestern town who were stunned when their homecoming queen was murdered. The resulting investigation engendered an eerie chain reaction that had a cataclysmic impact on the town of Twin Peaks.