Albatroz: Everything We Know

Prepare to embark on the backpacking journey of a lifetime in an all-new adventure RPG titled Albatroz. Announced during the BIG Festival 2023 in São Paulo, Brazil, the upcoming venture will take players to a vibrant world built on luscious highlands and ice-drizzled mountains, all the while creating a heartfelt and memorable tale of self-discovery and the everlasting beauty between blood and companionship. And if you think that’s intriguing, wait till you get a load of the gameplay.

The good news is, Albatroz will be heading to all major platforms on arrival. The bad news is, we don’t actually know when it’ll be coming out, other than at some point in 2024. To tide you over and give you a taste of that sweet, sweet nectar, however, we’ve gone ahead and scraped together all the details that developer Among Giants has provided to date. Care to hear the whole shebang? Then let’s get right into it.

What Is Albatroz?

To put you in the picture, Albatroz is a story-driven survival game based on one sibling’s perilous journey to locate their brother—a waylaid backpacker who attempted to climb the sacred mountain of Albatroz and happened to go missing along the way. Here, in the footprints left behind by your kin, you will set out to retrace their steps, even if it means pushing your body and mentality to its absolute limits.

In Among Giants’ own words: “Leave your dull urban life behind and set out on a journey to find your lost brother, who disappeared while looking to reach a mythical mountain called Albatroz. Use your survival skills to traverse beautiful yet challenging landscapes, ranging from scorching coastal regions to freezing mountains.”

From what we’ve caught of it so far, the adventure itself will take a few pages out of Road 96’s book. Although narratively worlds apart, it seems to us that the moral of the story won’t be encased within an epilogue, but within the adventure itself. In other words, expect plenty of wholesome conversations and phases of acceptance. After all, it isn’t the destination that matters — it’s the journey that you take to get there. Or something like that.

Story

Albatroz will take place in and around the mythical mountaintop of Albatroz, as well as the regions that lead to it. It is on this journey, bound for your lost brother, that you will have to test your knowledge of the open road and all the daring feats that stand between you and the summit. From the dusty dunes of a barren desert to the snow-glazed footpaths of a vertical mountainside, each step you take will push your body to its limits. The question you’re trying to find the answer to, really, is how far are you willing to go to save the one you love and cherish? Heavy stuff.

Gameplay

Aside from it being a story-driven adventure at its core, Albatroz will also shed light on several survival aspects, which will include having to “manage your resources, strengthen your body, and improve your abilities as you face the wilderness head-on.”

On top of the usual hikes and climbing, there’ll also be plenty of driving and general meandering between landmarks and campgrounds. It won’t be a short journey, is what we’re saying, and according to the devs, you’ll “find that the journey might actually be just as important as the destination.” So, if you’re one for trekking to unknown heights with nothing more than the clothes on your back and the courage burning in your heart, then you’re sure to find a home away from home in the world of Albatroz.

Going back to what we said about it being a great deal like Road 96, it appears a huge portion of the journey will be made up of connecting with other travelers and settlers. And while the goal will of course be to reach the mythical mountain of Albatroz, the screenshots suggest that there’ll be many, many settlements to pass through along the way. So, expect to make a few acquaintances as your nudge closer towards your final destination.

Development

Among Giants, the studio behind the story-driven musical journey known as Distortions, first announced its partnership with publishing house SOEDESCO back in the beginning of June. It’ll be the studio’s second feature-length IP, and one that’ll apparently take their love of backpacking to new and exciting heights. Fingers crossed it all works out for them, then.

“Ever since the successful release of our last project, ‘Distortions’, our progress has been scaling very fast, and it feels surreal to have SOEDESCO on board for our next endeavor,” Among Giants said in a press release. “We are especially thrilled because SOEDESCO not only believes in and supports our game design philosophy, but also embraces our team’s expression and shares our vision to create something fresh within the gaming industry.”

“Our next project will pay homage to our deep passion for backpacking in remote parts of the world and our love for mountains, with influences from the rich cultural heritage of Patagonia,” the press release continued. “With SOEDESCO on our side, we couldn’t be more excited to bring this vision to life.”

Trailer

Thanks to the BIG Festival in São Paulo, we do actually have some footage of Albatroz to tide us over. But don’t let us spoil it for you. You can check it out for yourself in the video embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

According to the devs, Albatroz will be heading to consoles and PC in 2024. We’ll go out on a whim here and say that, as it’s being slated for a release on consoles, that it’ll be available on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, as well as Steam. As for when in 2024 it’ll launch remains a mystery, though.

At the time of writing, Among Giants hasn’t mentioned anything about releasing any special editions of Albatroz. This is subject to change, as it is with any game that’s still in an early development phase. But as it stands, there is only the one version to get ahold of, and you can add that to your wishlist over on Steam.

Interested in staying up to date with Albatroz? If so, then be sure to check in with SOEDESCO’s social feed for all the latest updates here. We’ll be sure to let you know just as soon as there’s a release date nailed down.

So, what’s your take? Will you be setting out to visit the mystical mountains of Albatroz when the opportunity comes to knock? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.