Annapurna's newest game Skin Deep has a cat spaceship crew, mechs, and sneezing

Annapurna Interactive's next game lets you liberate a spaceship entirely crewed by cats from space pirate occupiers.

Skin Deep is the next project from Quadrilateral Cowboy and 30 Flights of Loving studio Blendo Games, and studio creator Brendon Chung, which self-published its previous titles. Joining up with Annapurna Interactive for publishing puts Skin Deep in very good company, standing alongside indie darlings such as Outer Wilds, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Kentucky Route Zero.

"Blendo is known for creating games that have compelling stories and great gameplay, and that’s exactly what drew us to work with Brendon," Annapurna Interactive president Nathan Gary said in a press release. "Skin Deep embodies all that and more. We’re truly blown away by their artistry and can’t wait to get it out in the world for everyone to play."

But let's get back to the cat spaceship. In Skin Deep, you play as a "walking talking insurance policy", whom insurance companies freeze and deploy on spaceships to keep their policyholders' assets safe (presumably because it's cheaper to keep you in hypersleep than it is to pay out the coverage). If, say, space pirates show up and start hassling the poor kitty cat crew, you're automatically unfrozen and sent out to do your job.

That means sneaking through corridors, trying not to sneeze and give your position away, throwing your empty guns at people, climbing into a ball-shaped mech and charging into action, and generally making your way through a huge and non-linear spaceship to neutralize the hostiles however you see fit. If that sounds like your kind of a good time, you can add Skin Deep to your Steam wishlist now.

Skin Deep doesn't have a release date yet, but you can see what we're excited about this year with our guide to new games 2021.