The Cyanide & Happiness web comic has been running for well over a decade now, and it has expanded to include animated features, make-your-own comic applications, and even card games, but the franchise is now moving into an even more ambitious realm: video games.
Explosm Entertainment — the company behind the comic series — posted a short teaser trailer for The Cyanide and Happiness Game on its YouTube channel. Narrated by John Bailey from the Honest Trailers YouTube series, the trailer shows a visual style that is identical to the animated shorts Explosm has been producing for the last few years. It’s most comparable to the work of artist Rob DenBleyker, who is one of three founders still working on the comic.
In the trailer, we see what appears to be an adventure game interface, with a number of items, such as a backpack and oven mitts, visible at the bottom of the screen in an inventory tab. If you’ve ever wanted to store “grandma’s corpse” in your pocket, you’ll be able to do that, as well.
The game promises “intense action,” only to show an old lady walking slowly toward the entrance of a retirement home, but we seem to see the same main character appear in every shot. This is somewhat unusual for Cyanide & Happiness, as the comic series almost never uses the same characters or plots more than once.
“Now, the secret to surviving out in the radioactive wild is to cover your own face with toxic sludge, so you can fit in and not draw attention to yourself,” a wilderness expert proclaims before his face melts off. This appears to be Ted Bear, who can be seen in a few shorts where he discovers bacon growing on trees, and forests made of candy.
No platforms have been announced for The Cyanide & Happiness Game yet, but it will begin a Kickstarter campaign on September 5. You can sign up for the latest announcements on the game’s teaser website. A number of books, containing hundreds of the series’ best comics, are available for purchase on the Explosm site, as well. We highly recommend Ice Cream & Sadness.
