NOTE: This interview was conducted prior to the game’s launch.

"During your travel you will encounter 5 different biomes that all have specific rules. Our first priority was to respect the scale in each one. Being a Smurf means that everything outside your village is huge."

How will the four playable characters differ from each other in terms of mechanics and abilities?

All the mechanics come from the Smurfizer (a powerful tool created by Smurf handy) which means that each playable character has the same abilities. The change of character is purely for narrative purpose.

How have you tackled the world design in the game, especially with five different locations being available? Has variety been something that you’ve focused on with these locations?

During your travel you will encounter 5 different biomes that all have specific rules. Our first priority was to respect the scale in each one. Being a Smurf means that everything outside your village is huge. Once this rule was set up, we tried to create a unique world space for each level, whether it is from the lighting, the fog, the 3D assets etc. Each level is recognizable and distinct.

How large can players expect the game’s environments to be? Is there much of an emphasis on exploration?

The main target of our game was children and very casual gamers but we did not want to exclude more experienced gamers. The mobility and complexity of the character were directly impacted by this, the same goes for our level design.

Furthermore, the exploration represents around half the time the player will spend in each level. The idea was to create levels that were accessible enough for children to complete, but deep enough for more experienced players to have fun in it.

Platformers tend to live and die by the move set they have on offer for players to utilize, but at the same time, balancing complexity and accessibility is also important. What’s been your approach to this?

Completing the story will unlock all the main mechanics, but we wanted the explorer to be rewarded not only with collectibles but also by upgrading their abilities to move around. Coming back to a level with a new mechanic will give you access to new collectibles. Use them to upgrade your Smurfizer in order to be faster, get to higher grounds, and explore even more.

"Completing the story will unlock all the main mechanics, but we wanted the explorer to be rewarded not only with collectibles but also by upgrading their abilities to move around."

It seems like the Smurfizer is going to be a pretty robust tool with a lot of applications. Can you talk a bit more about how its implemented in the game?

The Smurfizer is the latest tool created by Smurf Handy. It needs a special flower to work. Your first objective is to find it in order to use the Smurfizer. The more you progress in the story the more mechanics you will unlock. The Smurfizer is an essential tool in The Smurf Mission Vileaf every obstacle requires Handy’s latest invention in order to overcome it.

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of the game be?

Since the game has a strong emphasis on exploration, it will vaguely depend on the skill and implication of the player, but you can expect around 6 hours of story and much more if you want to complete it fully.

Will The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf have any targeted enhancements or optimizations on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S?

The PS5 and Xbox One Series X benefit of some visual and resolution upgrades, taking full advantage of the new generation superior processing power.

The PS5 features an incredibly fast SSD with 5.5GB/s raw bandwidth. This is faster than anything that is available out there. How can developers take advantage of this, and how does this compare to the Xbox Series X’s 2.4GB/s raw bandwidth? 

The loading times on the PlayStation 5 version of Smurfs is only few seconds. The best usage of the internal SSD is found in open world games, but even with level-based games, streaming capacity is interesting as it allows for fewer loading times, because we can stream textures and assets as we play. This allows to have better texture quality for closer assets and unload them when the player is far.

The Xbox Series S features lesser hardware compared to Xbox Series and Microsoft is pushing it as a 1440p/60fps console. Do you think it will be able to hold up for the graphically intensive next-gen games?

Having different versions of consoles can be tricky at times. Consoles help developers to minimize the number of hardware specs for their games, this makes optimization simpler than for PC, and ensures players a reliable experience. We always optimize our games for each system to get the most of it.

"The Smurfizer is an essential tool in The Smurf Mission Vileaf every obstacle requires Handy’s latest invention in order to overcome it."

Super Resolution is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. How do you think this will help game developers?

Since the PS4, hardware was not able to process that many pixels, so “super resolution / upscale tricks” were already available to developers, in a less powerful version. Having this available natively is really good news for players.

What frame rate and resolution does the game target on PS5 and Xbox Series X and S?

PS5: 4K supported and 60fps non-constant

Xbox Series: 1080p and 60fps solid

What resolution and frame rate does the game run in docked and undocked modes on the Switch?

The game runs at 560p in handheld mode and 720p in docked mode.

White Night stands out because at it’s core, it’s a ghost story that wants to make sure you are on the edge of your seat throughout. Once you are indeed sitting on the edge of your couch or your easy chair, White Night wants to lull you to sleep and then throw something at you that makes you jump back.

"The game is presented in a way that certainly stands out in the crowd because there are almost no actual colors. Everything is set in a black and white backdrop that certainly lends to the overall feel of White Night."

At times, the game pulls this off brilliantly. The first time I saw one of the spirits that inhabit the game, I did indeed jerk back a bit. Full disclosure, I had all the lights off in my house and was simply waiting for something scary to happen. I got what I was waiting for, even if it wasn’t nearly as hair raising or eye popping as the jump scares that are presented to us in something like the now famous P.T. White Night wants to be quite a bit more subtle and it does this well, if perhaps too well.

When the game opens, I was sitting behind the wheel of a car on a dark and desolate road when a sudden shape darts across my field of vision and causes me go to off the road. I (a nameless private detective) then stumbled to an apparently deserted house, wounded and looking for help. This is where the adventure really starts off, as I look for a way into the house, as well as clues as to where I am and why no one else seems to be around. Once inside the house, the mystery further unravels as I traverse through different rooms, having to find various forms of light that are first matches, the actual light switches and eventually ever growing means of shedding light on the room as well as the mystery itself.

The game is presented in a way that certainly stands out in the crowd because there are almost no actual colors. Everything is set in a black and white backdrop that certainly lends to the overall feel of White Night. This also makes the inability of being able to see what’s going on from one corner of the room to the next somewhat more believable because everything is already black, until light is shed on the subject and a white frame can be seen.

"The second big drawback of the game is the storytelling itself. That’s actually a rather large drawback when talking about a game that relies totally on storytelling."

This approach also allows White Night to look better than it likely would if colors were included in a fairly simple but eye catching animation. The fixed camera is another tool that doesn’t allow you to see much at one time. This is also the first real problem with the game because that fixed camera tends to switch unexpectedly to a different angle.

It’s possible this approach is meant to give the user a bit of an unsettled feeling, you think you know where you are in the room and then suddenly the point of view switches. If that was indeed the aim, it’s done rather clunkily. If White Night’s fixed camera does this to gamers accidentally, then it was a mistake to design the camera that way. No matter if the weird and sudden switches were intentional or not, they take something away from a game that needs everything going for it in order to draw you in.

The second big drawback of the game is the storytelling itself. That’s actually a rather large drawback when talking about a game that relies totally on storytelling. I didn’t fight off hordes of the undead or even have to do much running from enemies or trying to find a suitable weapon. The only weapon I was actually allowed was the light itself. My point is there isn’t nearly enough action for the storytelling to fall short.

"All in all, the game is fun enough to play, as long as you don’t get caught up in some of the goofier aspects and as long as you can get through the game quick enough not to get caught by the camera angle changes."

In White Night, it’s important to note that there is a difference between the storytelling and the story itself. The story is actually quite interesting and actually feels quite original, because you’re not running from hordes of the undead. The way it lays out the story at times is interesting as well, because I had to go and find little newspaper clippings or journal entries in order to figure out why I was at this house and why it was such a spooky house indeed. The story telling though, leaves something to be desired, thanks in large part to clunky dialogue that shoots for poetic but falls short and comes across as something the author of Twilight might write, if she decided to move into video games.

All of the dialogue is of the inner monologue variety in White Night and this actually makes the story telling that much clunkier. People don’t normally talk to themselves in that poetic a fashion. White Night is clearly trying to pass itself off as a kind of noir thriller straight from the 1930’s and it accomplishes this in some regard, but in the end, after a few hours of the same kind of clunky mechanics and dialogue, the story telling ends up being a very big negative.

All in all, the game is fun enough to play, as long as you don’t get caught up in some of the goofier aspects and as long as you can get through the game quick enough not to get caught by the camera angle changes. If you end up, as I did several times, going over the same painting five or six times because you lost track of where you were in the room, White Night becomes far too repetitive for the final payoff to be as fun as it could have been.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

GamingBolt spoke to OSome Studio co-founder Mathieu Fremont about White Night, the stylistic choices and the influences it draws upon. Along with talking about the journey the developer has taken, Fremont speaks about the various design choices that will make players either love or hate the experience.

"Even if we did not work directly with these partners in the end, we had a great contact with them and this allowed us to exist in the small world of video game industry."

Rashid K. Sayed: White Night certainly has a unique look about it, what can you tell us about your visual design choices?

Mathieu Fremont: It’s important to have a distinctive look when you start a new indie game. It helps the game to be noticed. This style is coherent with story, and gameplay, and helps us to keep production cost to an affordable level, so we’re happy to have chosen this!

Rashid K. Sayed: Already inbound for the PS4, Xbox One and PC, what can you tell us about a possible Wii U version in the future?

Mathieu Fremont: Even if it’s technically possible, no Wii U version is planned for now.

Rashid K. Sayed: Is there any particular reason that the game is set in 1930’s Boston? In an abandoned mansion of all places.

Mathieu Fremont: Of course, it’s inspired from mansion from “Alone in The Dark” for example. It’s a perfect setup for a survival horror. 1930’s is a time our writer particularly likes, because America’s great depression add to the background of the story a layer of gray that fits perfectly the mood.

Rashid K. Sayed: In 2013 the game was awarded both the Best PC & Console Hardcore Award and Best Selected Project Award. Did this help cement the style of White Night?

Mathieu Fremont: Yes. It was the first time we were showing the game in a public event, and this allowed us to meet with Microsoft, Sony, Namco… Even if we did not work directly with these partners in the end, we had a great contact with them and this allowed us to exist in the small world of video game industry.

"We did not want to add too much "filler" events, to keep a dense story and rhythm. Moreover, as there are very few combat features in the game, player does not spends hours waiting under cover like some other games."

Rashid K. Sayed: 8 – 10 hours for an adventure game, in the sense of classic adventure games, could arguably be called a little on the short side, is there any particular reason for that?

Mathieu Fremont: It’s not that small, if you check “Gone Home” for example, with about 2 hours of game play, the duration of White Night is okay. We did not want to add too much “filler” events, to keep a dense story and rhythm. Moreover, as there are very few combat features in the game, player does not spends hours waiting under cover like some other games. We’re quite happy with this duration. And don’t forget it’s a $15 game!

Rashid K. Sayed: With White Night said to feature elements of horror, can you tell us how this will unfold in the final version of the game?

Mathieu Fremont: Games takes place in a dark mansion, filled with hostile creatures… we can call them “ghosts”. You cannot see them really well, and they can instantly kill you if they touch you. So you will really feel weak… and scared. Moreover, sound and music are really present and enhance the experience.

Rashid K. Sayed: Your gameplay trailer showed the games protagonist approaching an Axe, will there be a combat mechanic?

Mathieu Fremont: There is not real combat. Fighting against ghosts is only made using electric light. That’s the puzzle part: Use objects, furniture, switches present in the rooms in order to get rid of hostile ghosts.

Rashid K. Sayed: Many gamers will be expecting 1080p at 60fps, will the game run at that standard on PS4 and Xbox One?

Mathieu Fremont: Yes, that’s we target.

Rashid K. Sayed: If you could compare White Night to an already existing title, from any genre, which would you choose?

Mathieu Fremont: I would choose “Gone Home”. Even if it’s not the same setup, we tried to have the same story deepness, and like in gone home, hero will be (nearly) on his own and will try to learn more about what happened here…

"We didn't want to do an average game with average choices. We know some will love, and some will hate, because it's made of choices. You can't play White Night and have no opinion on it. That's what we call an indie game."

Rashid K. Sayed: What is your take on the differences between the PS4 and Xbox One? Do you think the difference is being overplayed these days?

Mathieu Fremont: There is not difference between PS4 and XBox One versions of White Night. But the dev of the game has been slightly different. I would say Xbox is easier to program, but PS4 seems more powerful.

Rashid K. Sayed: From the indie perspective, what is your take on the parity clause within the id@Xbox Policy?

Mathieu Fremont: Even if we were featured as an ID@XBox game, we are now published by Activision, outside of this program. However, for the time we were in the ID@XBox program, it was a really great experience, it was really nice to see some Microsoft people so close to devs.

Rashid K. Sayed: As someone who is also developing on PC, what are your thoughts on DirectX 12? Do you think it could be beneficial for indies?

Mathieu Fremont: We did not use DX12. From a personal point of view, I wouldn’t recommend using “platform-specific” features when you plan to port a game. There is already enough compatibility issues without using all these features. I feel only big studios can use these features, that are not available on all GFX cards.

Rashid K. Sayed: Is there anything else you want to tell us before we let you go?

Mathieu Fremont: Thanks for playing White Night. Do not forget price point and all the strong and risky choices we’ve made. We didn’t want to do an average game with average choices. We know some will love, and some will hate, because it’s made of choices. You can’t play White Night and have no opinion on it. That’s what we call an indie game.

Ever since the advent of the current generation of console cycle, it has been widely accepted that the PlayStation 4 is superior in terms of hardware specifications compared to the Xbox One. Not only that but several game developers also think that the PS4 is easier to develop for given its unified architecture compared to the eSRAM based architecture of the Xbox One.

However Mathieu Fremont from OSome Studio, the developers behind the recently released White Night believes that the PS4 is indeed more powerful but the Xbox One is easier to program for. “There is not a lot of difference between PS4 and Xbox One versions of White Night. But the development of the game has been slightly different. I would say Xbox One is easier to program, but PS4 seems more powerful,” Mathieu said to GamingBolt.

This is an interesting statement by Mathieu given that the Xbox One is fairly well known for its development complications but in the recent months, Microsoft have consistently updated the console’s SDK making it somewhat easier for developers.

On a sidenote, Wii U owners who are expecting the game to hit their consoles are in for a disappointment. Mathieu confirmed that a Wii U version is not planned. “Even if it’s technically possible, no Wii U version is planned for now,” he said.

White Night is now available across PS4, Xbox One and PC platforms. Stay tuned for our full interview with Mathieu next week.

As announced by the PlayStation Blog, there’s a brand new survival horror title releasing courtesy of OSome Studio. White Night is set in 1930s Boston and embodies a noir-like storytelling and stark black and white art style. Check out the reveal trailer above.

White Night sees you driving down the road and getting involved in a major accident. When the protagonist wakes up, he walks towards a seemingly quiet mansion for help and becomes caught up in its secrets and shadows. And from the looks of things, there are more than a few skeletons in the manor’s numerous closets.

The game will emphasize exploration and puzzles while bringing a survival horror touch reminiscent of Alone in the Dark. It will release on March 3rd for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac and Linux. What are your thoughts on White Night? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more information.