The accomplished indie studio Bithell Games has abruptly announced a new game entitled The Solitaire Conspiracy. Known for developing titles like Thomas Was Alone and last year’s officially licensed John Wick Hex, the studio has also released a few smaller offerings called “Bithell Shorts.”
Although Bithell Games’ bigger projects tend to be more recognizable and successful, the developer also likes to use its side projects to experiment with other design ideas. After releasing the well-liked stealth game Volume in 2015, the studio surprised fans with the launch of Subsurface Circular in 2017, which was its first Bithell Short. Quarantine Circular followed the next year as the second Bithell Short, and both games had a brief yet intriguing take on the text-based adventure genre. They were also released without any prior announcement or marketing, but that trend has just been broken by the reveal of the third Bithell Short.
Today on Twitter, game director and studio namesake Mark Bithell suddenly unveiled The Solitaire Conspiracy as the latest side project from his company. He described it as “Solitaire, but extra, with powers and a full FMV storied campaign, time attack and skirmish modes!” The game is coming to Steam and the Epic Games Store on October 6. Apparently, unlike the other two Bithell Shorts, The Solitaire Conspiracy is being announced now in order to build awareness and interest in the game leading up to its arrival in just two weeks. Bithell said that while it was “fun” to surprise-launch their previous two shorts, the unfortunate realities of 2020 have made it necessary to drum up pre-launch excitement and give their third short “a fighting chance.” Watch the game’s announcement trailer (courtesy of Video Game Showcase) below to get a grasp on its mix of antique gameplay and modern tricks:
Bithell went on to say that he’ll be sharing more details about The Solitaire Conspiracy and the talent involved with it over the next two weeks. He highlighted a few people in particular, including Greg Miller of Kinda Funny and Jon Everist, who composed music for games like BattleTech and Shadowrun. Bithell did not provide a price point for the game, but it can be wishlisted on the Epic Games Store and Steam in the meantime.
Two weeks doesn’t seem like much of a head start for The Solitaire Conspiracy, even compared to Subsurface Circular and Quarantine Circular. However, given the quality of those games and their very modest price, they didn’t necessarily need any marketing to succeed – and the same is probably true for this third Bithell Short. It sounds like there will be plenty to look forward to with The Solitaire Conspiracy.
