Indie studio BROKENCIGS has shared the ups and downs behind The Hilltop Funeral, their two-player cooperative puzzle game now in Steam Early Access. Developers revealed how remote workflows and a leaked concept have shaped the team’s creative process while they polish a darkly comic title with a distinctive visual flair.

  • Early access live on Steam: The Hilltop Funeral tasks two players with transporting a corpse inside an open casket through challenging, physics-driven stages that demand tight teamwork.
  • Style and tone: The game pairs gothic, whimsical visuals with tongue-in-cheek dialogue and a narrative the studio is keeping mostly under wraps until full release.
  • Development hurdles: BROKENCIGS says switching to distributed collaboration created friction, and at one point their core idea was revealed by others, adding pressure to stand out.
  • New York dev context: The team reflected on how the local scene and competitive environment in NYC can be both inspiring and intimidating for small studios.
  • Looking ahead: Despite setbacks, the studio appears committed to refining cooperative puzzles and preserving the game’s quirky identity before the final launch.

Source: Nintendo Life

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