Indie Spotlight – Pine Hearts captures nostalgia and hope in a thoughtful narrative journey

Secret Mode has launched its adventure title, Pine Hearts, which is now available on both Android and iOS. In this critically acclaimed, narrative-driven title, you take on the role of Tyke, returning to a place filled with memories to explore themes of love, life, loss, and family.

Game Overview

Pine Hearts, developed by Hyper Luminal Games, is a cozy, narrative adventure title that invites you to experience a world set in the scenic Pine Hearts Caravan Park, tucked in the beautiful Scottish countryside. Here, you can explore through peaceful trails, rivers, parks, and more.

You can also revisit your memories of childhood trips while uncovering past adventures with your dad. You can uncover useful items and use your toolkit to unlock new paths, all while filling your hillwalking journal. Plus, you’ll get to meet new friends, pet adorable dogs, and take on quirky quests from the locals.

With its gentle puzzles, laid-back exploration, whimsical characters, quests, thoughtful moments, side-quest tracking, improved map, visual effects toggles, and more, Pine Hearts delivers a cozy, thoughtful gaming experience for modern gamers.

Why you should play Pine Hearts

• A thoughtful narrative adventure with gentle puzzles and laid-back exploration.
• It is a critically acclaimed title with positive reviews across multiple platforms.
• Meet whimsical characters, help locals with quirky quests, befriend adorable dogs, and unlock new abilities and equipment.
• Packed with mobile-friendly features like side-quest tracking, improved map, visual effects toggles, and more.

From concept to creation: Developer Insights

In a conversation with GamingonPhone, the Hyper Luminal Games team, including Rob Madden, the Creative Director and Co-founder of the studio, Niamh Loughran, the Producer, and Katy Wood, the Lead 3D Artist, shared valuable details about Pine Hearts, like inspiration, art style, and more.

While talking about the studio and himself, Mr Rob expressed, “We like to make games with thoughtful stories, quirky gameplay hooks, and gorgeous visual styles.” While on it, he also shared that they’re an indie games studio based in Dundee, Scotland.

A personal story at the heart of Pine Hearts

Mr Rob revealed that the game began from a deeply personal space, and shared, “Pine Hearts was inspired by the sudden death of my dad back in 2019.” Creating the game for him became a way to explore grief while also expressing, “in a way that looked to the future with hope.“

The setting also comes from real life, and he shared that it’s “based on a real caravan park in the north of Scotland called Kingussie.” He fondly recalled his summers there, like “exploring the forests, finding critters, and spending time with family,” making it the natural setting to tell this story.

Defining what cosy really means with Pine Hearts

Next, Producer Niamh Loughran shared that the game is more than just soft visuals and a calm soundtrack. She said, “When you’re playing the game, there are no time restraints and no need to strategise,” as you can make progress at your own pace and own style.

It was also nice to know that small touches like, “you can sit Tyke on a park bench, the camera zooms out while the music plays,” and more were added simply because they felt nice.

She also pointed out that so many cosy titles still include stressful elements like “a time limit system in the game, or a need to carefully plan and execute your actions.” And by avoiding those, Pine Hearts became what she calls, “a game in which you can actively relax.“

Bringing nostalgia to life through captivating art direction and visuals

As an artist myself, I was curious to know what the team’s approach was behind the art style and visuals to match the cosy tone. And the lead 3D Artist, Katy Wood, explained that the art direction aimed to reflect “Tyke’s journey reliving his childhood memories and creating his own narrative.“

The team drew inspiration from the “brightly coloured children’s playsets and toys” from their childhood to create a “distinct chunky aesthetic you see throughout the world,” she noted.

She also revealed that the team’s aim was always for players to “reminisce about their own
childhood experiences,” while being invested in Tykes’ story when they were creating the visuals for it.

It is filled with themes of memory and hope

While we continued our conversation, Mr Rob shared that at the game’s core, he “wanted people who have maybe gone through a similar experience to be able to look to the future with hope.” He also believes that through Tyke’s journey, you can take something hopeful from it.

He also went down memory lane and revealed that after his father passed, his mother told him, “he lives on through me,” and so the protagonist carries on “the memory of his own dad through the experiences that he recalls throughout the game.”

The studio’s plans beyond the game’s launch

Coming to the end of our discussion, I asked them about their plans now that the game is live. To which Niamh Loughran believes there’s more to explore in Pine Hearts, “either as Tyke or as a new main character.“

She mentioned her interest in telling stories about Maddie and her helpful pup Bonnie, who appear early in the game as park rangers of the Caravan Park. She shared, “I’ve always thought it’d be fun to learn their story and learn how they came to be the park rangers.“

She also revealed that the team created a range of “important tools that have made a lasting impact within the studio.” And further highlighted the accessibility features for the game, like colourblind filters and custom controls, which will “be carried on and grown to benefit our other projects and audiences.“

Advice from the team for other indie devs in the field

At last, Mr Rob was kind enough to offer some advice to fellow indie devs. “Write about what you know,” he said, adding that in a cosy game space, “players are looking for genuine experiences told by real people.” He believes the key is to ask yourself, “What am I trying to say?” and “then build a game around answering that question.“

Final Verdict from the Editor

With the game now available on mobile, I’m surely going to try this game again, though I had the chance to try it beforehand, as the team was kind enough to lend me a review key. The best part about this game for me is the combination of whimsical characters, the overall theme, and the captivating art style.

Plus, with its wonderful, meaningful storyline, laid-back exploration, exciting puzzles, quirky quests, abilities, and equipment, a Scottish Highlands’ Cairngorms-inspired world, thoughtful moments, and more, it’s a must-try title for fans who have always wanted to try this acclaimed title.

If you want to play this title, you can now download it via your respective Google Play Store or App Store. Let me remind you again that you can try out the first two areas and enjoy a free 20-minute demo gameplay, and purchase the full game for $4.99 for the full experience.

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