This is quite the unexpected "game based on a film" announcement, in that the source is the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock film 'Vertigo'. A psychological "what's real" thriller that has inspired many stories and films for decades. From developer Pendulo Studios (Runaway, Yesterday Origins) and publisher Microids the game will also walk a similar line between reality and fantasy.



The premise is definitely pure Hitchcock.

Writer Ed Miller came out unscathed from his car crash down into Brody Canyon, California. Even though no one was found inside the car wreckage, Ed insists that he was traveling with his wife and daughter. Traumatized by this event, he begins to suffer from severe vertigo. As he starts therapy, he will try to uncover what really happened on that tragic day.

Vertigo sounds fascinating in the the game will also use the cinematic language of Hitchcock to tell its story. "Alfred Hitchcock’s movie was a major inspiration source, whether it’s about the game’s themes, its narration, or even the visual techniques we used that clearly mirror Hitchcock’s recurrent cinematographic techniques” explains Josué Monchan, Narrative Designer at Pendulo Studios. “Vertigo is not our only frame of reference. For instance, the fact that therapy is at the core of the narrative echoes Spellbound, and some characters resemble protagonists from Rebecca, Psycho, and many more.”

With multiple characters and timelines this is shaping up to be the sort of mind-bender we rarely see in the narrative adventure space. Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is on track for release later this year on on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.