You’ll only survive the scorching wasteland of Hello Sunshine by walking in the shadow of a giant robot

Here’s one for the sci-fi slurping doomers among us. Hello Sunshine is a “survival mystery RPG” from the makers of Draugen, in which you must navigate a blistering desert by sheltering in the constantly moving shadow of a friendly robot. A collapsed corporation called Sunshine has turned the planet into a scorched wasteland leaving behind only warring mechs and dusty vending machines. “You play the final employee,” say developers Red Thread Games. “Walk in the shadow of a giant robot during the sweltering days; stay close to keep warm during the cold nights.” I wonder if any of this is a metaphor. Ah, who cares, it’s got a cool trailer.

You’re trying to reach a distant tower, where you’ll “help decide the fate of what remains of this world.” But to get there you have to take advantage of your big metal friend’s shadow to survive the otherwise skin-frying sun rays. Along the way you’ll scavenge food, salvage mechanical bits ‘n’ bobs, upgrade your big bot, and deploy smaller drones to help map the surroundings and gather useful gear. When night falls the temperature plummets and you’ll have to snuggle up to the robot, where you can cook food and tinker with equipment.

“At first, the colossus barely acknowledges you,” says the blurb on the game’s Steam page. “Over time, your bond strengthens. Assist the robot with repairs, install upgrades, and unlock new ways to interact. In return, the metal giant will aid you on your journey — locating secrets hidden in the desert, lifting you past obstacles, shielding you from threats, fighting back against hostile war machines.”

You’ll also be able to give your post-apocalyptic pal a paint job, and add decals to his shiny metal chassis. Interestingly, it looks like there’ll be a co-op mode too, which seems to pit one player as the human and another as the sand-stomping big lad.

“Team up with a friend (or workmate) to experience the journey from different perspectives,” say the devs. “Coordinate scavenging runs, trade resources, and explore how your peculiar partnership shapes the unfolding narrative.”

Red Thread Games previously made road trip adventure Dustborn, which saw a bunch of misfits crossing a dystopian United States with a comic-booky “words are magic” schtick. Before that they made first-person mystery Draugen, in which you explored an abandoned Norwegian village called Graavik for clues about your missing sister. Alice B (RPS in peace) thought it was OK. “Draugen does a lot of tropes very well,” she said in her review, “but it does others in a tired way that garners side eye from me… Graavik, meanwhile, remains a nice place to visit. But you wouldn’t want to live there.”

Hello Sunshine doesn’t have a release date yet. It’s only listed as “coming soon”. We’ll let you know when more information comes trudging over the horizon.