On October 8, global game developer Amber revealed Station 58, a new puzzle adventure game currently in development by its internal label Amber Originals.
Station 58 is a 3D puzzle adventure set in Barcadero National Park, which has been fractured into pieces and scattered across the sky by an unknown force. Players control park ranger Starla Pines and a giant robot named Shorty as they recover missing pieces of the park and uncover the secrets behind the alien cubes appearing throughout the landscape.
At the core of the game is cooperation between two characters with distinct abilities. Starla can utilize her small frame to squeeze through narrow passages or navigate complex terrain, while Shorty excels at using immense strength to move heavy objects or overcome obstacles. In particular, the game features puzzles that leverage the physical differences between the two, such as Shorty throwing Starla across long distances. Alongside single-player, the game supports local couch co-op on a single screen.
Barcadero National Park, the primary setting for exploration, features a variety of natural environments, including lush forests, desert springs, caves, and rivers. As players discover artifacts and creatures hidden throughout the world, they must navigate past carnivorous plants, hostile wildlife, and various traps to advance into new regions. Inside the alien cubes scattered across the park, players will encounter puzzles combining mechanics such as moving blocks, activating switches, and using portals, which must be solved to destroy the cubes' power sources.
Restoring the park alongside solving puzzles is another central gameplay element. Players expand the explorable area by recovering lost park zones through exploration and repairing destroyed bridges and facilities. Reclaimed areas can be manually rearranged around Station 58, opening up new traversal routes or granting access to hidden locations depending on their placement. Additionally, players can follow broadcast logs left behind by missing radio host Tumbleweed to unravel the mystery of what happened to the national park.
Meanwhile, Station 58 originated from the personal experiences of Game Director Dustin Hansen. Hansen drew inspiration from hiking, campfires, and exploring nature with his children during past trips to national parks, explaining that he wanted to translate the experience of exploring unfamiliar places and discovering new things with family into a video game.
His family also directly participated in the actual development. His son, Tanner Hansen, handled concept art and UI, while his daughter, Valkyrie Hansen, was in charge of animation, environment creation, and production. His voice-actor daughter Mallory and son-in-law Parker provided the voices for Starla and Shorty, respectively. In this way, the game's theme of family exploration was reflected in its actual creation process.
Station 58 is set to launch on PC via Steam, though a specific release date has not yet been announced. Wishlist registration and playtest sign-ups are currently available on its Steam store page.
