I love the DISTRAINT series. I wrote about my experience playing DISTRAINT last Halloween, and the sequel, DISTRAINT 2, actually brought me to tears with its study of childhood trauma and its cascading effect on our lives as adults. Needless to say, I follow the work of indie developer Jesse Makkonen closely, and I was excited when he announced a few days ago that his new game, Heal, would be coming to PC, iOS, and Android on April 10, 2020.
Like the DISTRAINT series, Heal is a side-scrolling adventure game with a deep story about old age and dementia — a subject Makkonen noticed that games “rarely” touch on.
“Heal is a game that holds a priceless message about old age, life, memory, and love. It tells a story of which we all can somehow relate to,” Makkonen said. “It could be us, our parents or our grandparents. Heal tells their story, and many of our stories yet to come.”
In regards to game development, Makkonen is a bit of a one-man band. He handles all of the programming, writing, art, and music. He said this allows him to create unique games that he would love to play. “I’m creating games I’d love to play myself – they’re all love-projects. No compromises.”
At launch on April 10, 2020, Heal will be available in 29 languages, and will be released on Steam, iOS, and Android platforms. The game page for mobile platforms are not yet available, but the game can currently be added to Steam wishlists.
