A recent Instagram post by composer Freyja Garbett revealed the music and name of an upcoming video game from the original developers ofL.A. Noire, hinting that a spiritual successor to the hit title may be on the way.L.A. Noireachieved massive popularity thanks to its early use of incredibly detailed motion capture, and Garbett’s social media post seems to confirm that yet another thrilling game is in production.
Taking place in the 1940s, thestory ofL.A. Noiresees players taking on the role of detective Cole Phelps, as they investigate a series of crimes across post-war Los Angeles. While the original studio behind the game, Team Bondi, disbanded shortly after the title’s release, a number of the core development team reformed as Video Games Deluxe and have been hard at work on this title.
According to theInstagrampost by music producer Freyja Garbett (and firstreported by VGC), the creators ofL.A. Noireare developing a new open-world psychological thriller calledSowden House, which will return players to 1940s Los Angeles for a mind-bending experience. The post features a jazz band recording session in which fans will instantly recognize the familiar musical stylings ofL.A. Noire. Garbett notes that this game is a “HUGE” project and still has a lot to be unraveled. For fans ofgames likeL.A. Noire,Sowden Housecould scratch the itch for an open-world detective experience. Though Garbett avoids naming this in-development title as a true sequel toLA Noire, the similar genre and music hint at the possibility of a spiritual successor.
Sowden House
Sowden Houseis the name of a home that was owned by Dr. George Hodel, who was a prime suspect in the notorious Black Dahlia case, which itself features heavily throughout the investigatedcrimes inL.A. Noire. Furthermore, Hodel’s son once claimed that the victim, Elizabeth Short, was in fact killed in the Sowden House, though no official investigations have verified this statement. The music and setting ofSowden Houseare perfectly in line withL.A. Noire, and the creators of the original game are involved in this new project, per Garbett.
L.A. Noireset a new standard for motion capture in gaming and offered athrilling detective video gameexperience that many feel has never truly been rivaled.Sowden Houselooks to return players to a familiar time and place, though it remains to be seen if this title will greet fans with the same jazzy gusto ofL.A. Noire.
LA Noire
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Using groundbreaking new animation technology, MotionScan, that captures every nuance of an actor’s facial performance in astonishing detail, L.A. Noire is a violent crime thriller that blends breathtaking action with true detective work to deliver an unprecedented interactive experience. Search for clues, chase down suspects and interrogate witnesses as you struggle to find the truth in a city where everyone has something to hide.Amid the post-war boom of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Cole Phelps is an LAPD detective thrown headfirst into a city drowning in its own success. Corruption is rampant, the drug trade is exploding, and murder rates are at an all-time high. In his fight to climb the ranks and do what’s right, Phelps must unravel the truth behind a string of arson attacks, racketeering conspiracies and brutal murders, battling the L.A. underworld and even members of his own department to uncover a secret that could shake the city to its rotten core.
