Owlcat Games and Emotion Spark Studio have announced a global collaboration with Movember for upcoming adventure-RPG, Rue Valley.
The partnership will showcase how gaming can explore mental health struggles and emotional well-being:
- Meeting Players Where They Are: Using gaming as a familiar non‑clinical space, Rue Valley provides a natural approach to promote mental wellbeing.
- Gaming as Connection and Healing: Through the dynamic narrative and compelling characters, players are encouraged to reflect and engage in meaningful conversations.
- Normalizing Therapy: Rue Valley’s thoughtful approach to storytelling helps players explore what therapy can feel like in a safe, immersive way.
Rue Valley is a story-focused adventure-RPG inspired by Disco Elysium. It’s about a man trapped in a mysterious time loop, Groundhog Day-style. Through actions and choices, players craft their character’s personality, store memories, and unlock new mindsets and interactions while trying to escape the loop.
“We’re extremely proud to be working with the Movember team,” said Marko Smiljanić, Creative Director, Emotion Spark Studio. “Our partnership helps us convey the importance of mental well-being responsibly, drawing on their expertise to ensure these stories feel authentic.”
Movember is the leading charity organization for men’s health, funding project that focus on mental health, suicide prevention, and cancer. It’s most famous for the annual mustache-growing campaign every November, raising awareness for men’s health.
Does this mean Rue Valley will release in November?
“We are committed to meeting young men where they are at and working with them and their communities in innovative ways to improve mental health,” said Tom Mulvaney, psychologist and Australasian Director of Young Men’s Health, Movember. “This partnership reflects a great opportunity to meet at the nexus of mental health and gaming to improve the coping skills of young men, supporting them to navigate life’s stressors both in and out of the game.”
A release date for Rue Valley has not yet been announced, but it’s coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. A free demo is available on Steam.
