Spanish developer Elwin Gorman’s upcoming video game Naiad brings us all the serenity and joy of wild swimming without a Dryrobe in sight
As a child, Elwin Gorman would go on long, winding river walks in the picturesque region of Murcia in southern Spain. Gorman senior, an agent for the Spanish environmental ministry, was attuned to the wellbeing of the watery ecosystem, and keen to teach his son how to love the natural world. Naiad, a video game where florid new age aesthetics meet wild swimming, is the product of that love. It feels designed to soothe and restore us in these horribly choppy times.
Gorman’s fondness for nature is visible from the very first frame of the game, whose name refers to the water nymphs of Greek mythology. Across a three-hour journey, you navigate the gentle currents of a single river, solving environmental puzzles, meeting a cast of human and non-human characters, even singing to regenerate ailing flora. The water shimmers evocatively, drawing the eye just as it would in real life, and the colours have a gorgeous cartoonish pop. The visual style recalls Studio Ghibli’s most naturalistic animated films, particularly its 2008 oceanic classic, Ponyo.
Naiad is out 13 October, on PC and consoles. A demo is available on Steam.
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