Mike Bithell, the head of Bithell Games, who is best known for his work developing Thomas Was Alone and John Wick Hex, is a man who likes to experiment. In between his larger projects, he’s produced and released two “Bithell Shorts”: 2017’s Subsurface Circular and 2018’s Quarantine Circular. These games, which are designed to be completed in only a few hours of play, are inspired by classic text-based adventure series and feature gameplay based around interrogating other characters and making key decisions.
The first two Bithell Shorts were “surprise releases” – made available to purchase for Windows PC without any prior announcements or lead-up. However, Bithell has officially announced his third Short a full two weeks prior to its release date of October 6. The announcement for the game was made via his official Twitter account earlier today.
https://twitter.com/mikeBithell/status/1308405746611126272
The Solitaire Conspiracy is a twist on the classic single-player card game which so many gamers may fondly remember playing on their PCs during their younger days. Rather than a simple Solitaire remake, however, Conspiracy will feature a cyberpunk theme and multiple game modes including Time Attack, Skirmish and, most interestingly of all, a fully fleshed-out story campaign.
The game’s story mode, which Bithell clarified will not tie in to the previous Circular shorts, will be based around full motion video (FMV) segments starring industry notable Greg Miller as spy agency analyst Jim Ratio and featuring actor and gamer Inel Tomlinson as Ratio’s associate Diamond. Ratio, the sole remaining member of compromised spy agency Protego, is tasked with completing a series of Solitaire games in order to locate his scattered coworkers and successfully bring them home.
The Solitaire Conspiracy will be available via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Currently, a trailer for the game can be watched only via the title’s Epic Games Store page.
