Today is a great day. Earlier this summer we offered a glimpse at what Jett is all about and how it plays, yesterday we announced our project has gone gold, and today we’re thrilled to be here to announce a release date.
Jett: The Far Shore will alight on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on October 5, 2021.If you’re eager to embark, know that pre-orders are available today at a 20% discount until launch day.
To mark this occasion, we’ve cooked up a new Jett video for you, providing fresh glimpses into the distinct universe, narrative and tone of this unusual interstellar action adventure.
Jett tells a layered cinematic story, with on foot segments where you’re able to soak in the mood of a space and talk to people, including your fellow Jett scouts, as you piece together a thoughtful narrative that is sometimes warm and intimate, often heavy hearted, occasionally spectacular. When you’re not on foot you’re at the helm of a low-flying Jett, working alongside fellow Jett scouts, employing scientific tools to better understand an unfamiliar planet. As you progress in Jett, the scope of the story will come into focus as the Jett action broadens. Before long you’ll find yourself roaming through scenarios that reveal some of Jett’s immersive sim aspirations.
Jett began long long ago, even before Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, when Craig D. Adams at Superbrothers A/V and I met. We discovered a resonance, and soon found ourselves discussing concepts involving low-flying Jetts leaving long trails zipping across naturalistic landscapes, while evocative music and immersive audio create strong vibes.
In those early days Craig was pretty fired up about Fumito Ueda’s video games like Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus, as well Motorstorm: Pacific Rift by Evolution Studios, and thatgamecompany’s flOwer. You may detect vibes, and even some design sensibilities, in common with those.
Now, I wasn’t involved in Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, however, hot on the heels of that release, Craig and I reconvened to gauge our level of motivation, and we then began to carve out Jett’s ambitious design in earnest. Soon enough we had Jett’s narrative concepts, the foundational mechanics, look and feel, plus the specific characters, locations and plot in place in order to be able to tell the story of The Far Shore.
Working in close collaboration from very early on with composer and sound designer scntfc aka C. Andrew Rohrmann (Oxenfree, Galak-Z), we laid the foundation for Jett’s sprawling musical score, as well as its distinct approach to audio and haptics. Speaking of scntfc’s score, we look forward to providing details about the sprawling Jett OST soon enough.
As Craig and I iterated and progressed on the project, we were inspired by video games like 30 Flights of Loving and Firewatch, with No Man’s Sky and Below as projects to contrast Jett with.
Once we had adequately carved out Jett’s vision, we found ourselves in pretty deep on a project with more depth, breadth, and surface area than we were able to deliver on, under our own steam, given our level of expertise. This is where we sought support and began to build out the Jett squad, a constellation of all-star contributors and vendors, working remotely in time zones around the globe.
For Craig and I, it has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside folks like Looking Glass alumni Randy Smith and Terri Brosius, SIE alumni Nick Suttner, illustrator Dustin Harbin, sworcery maestro Jim Guthrie, plus rising stars such as Priscilla Snow and Sam Bradley, as well as fine folks at vendors like A Shell In The Pit and Skymap Games, all of whom were able to climb aboard in strange times and lend us a helping hand.
Jett has had a long road, but we’re thrilled it all came together and that it’ll soon be in your hands. Please, consider embarking with us!