Rime’s Director Describes How Being Compared To Zelda And Ico Nearly Ruined The Game

When Rime was first revealed as a PlayStation exclusive back in 2013, it seemed most people had a similar reaction to the stylish indie adventure – "This looks a lot like The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker" or, alternatively, "This looks a lot like Ico." Needless to say, that's a lot for any game to live up to, and according to Tequila Works co-founder Raul Rubio, his studio didn't react well to the pressure.

"Originally we wanted to create something very small. We never expected to be compared to The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, for example, or Ico. We were scared as hell. You are comparing titles with millions in budget to a very tiny game made by 18 people in Spain. That was in 2013, and we knew we had to deliver or we were f****d, basically, but how we dealt with that was problematic.

We were so scared of what people were saying about the game and the comparisons that we decided to just isolate ourselves and finish the damn game. The reaction was not very good. People were saying, 'Oh that means the game is cancelled, it was all smoke and mirrors, and maybe Sony didn't like the game and they dropped it.' That was tough."

In response to the Zelda comparisons, Tequila Works decided they needed to add additional mechanics and equipment to the game, which ended up not working out, further extending the game's development time. Rubio also explained why Rime went from being PS4 exclusive to a multiplatform title…

"When we saw the potential of Rime, we knew we had to be multiplatform. Because we are a very small indie studio so reaching as many players as possible was the best for us, and of course you cannot do that if you're first party. It was very simple: we wanted to be on Xbox and PC - we didn't know about Nintendo Switch back then - and basically we bought back the IP rights."

This isn't the first time Rubio has talked about how difficult the development of Rime was, going so far as to say criticism of the game had him in tears. Thankfully, the four years of hard work was worth it, as Rime was fairly well-received upon its release earlier this year. Perhaps more importantly, most who have tried Rime agree it stands on its own as more than just a Wind Waker or Ico homage.

Rime is currently available on PC, Xbox One, and PS4. A Nintendo Switch version is expected this fall.

[via Eurogamer]