Save scumming. We all do it. None of us like admitting that we've cheated the rules in an RPG, but one upcoming indie game canonizes the act of overwriting saves, so you don't need to feel too ashamed.
Save scumming is the simple act of reloading an earlier save and pretending you never made any mistakes in the first place. Maybe Liara caught you cheating on her in Mass Effect - you don't want to hurt her feelings; she's a gem - so you backtrack, sweep your current save under the rug, and act like the small infidelity never happened. Maybe Dragon Age's Morrigan keeps disapproving of your every decision, and since your insecurities only make her disapproval more attractive, you rewind and become the person you're meant to be. Or maybe you just want to, ahem, test your new shiny gear in Skyrim on random villagers without all the bounties that go along with it.
No matter which saves you reload and which game it's in, no RPG truly acknowledges that the player save scums. But Saveseeker, an upcoming turn-based indie due out next year, is all about save scumming.
In Saveseeker, you won't be using the time-traveling power to reverse an affair or village massacre, though. "Play as Emmer Edette, a cheerful and carefree child who discovers she inherited her famous father's ability to 'save' moments in time at specific points worldwide," Saveseeker's Steam page explains. "Alongside her grumpy dragon toy sidekick, Tippleton, she embarks on a journey to overwrite all of the world's save points ('Save Stops') and confront her father, a once-great Hero."
Aside from the obviously sweet concept, Saveseeker is also tickling all my nostalgic itches with some gorgeous pixel art, turn-based combat, and an adventure that has you recruiting the bosses you defeat as additional party members. Over on Twitter, developer Paper Sword Games also said it was a game about "trope deconstruction, eating cake, and talking about feelings," making me very excited for its launch sometime in 2025.
Check out some upcoming indie games of 2024 and beyond for more.
