- HARMONY UPDATE - 9 May 2024
Get ready to return to hills with five new tracks from Talisk and Fourth Moon, including two of our personal favourites, Cherry Blossom and Last Leg! And to help you navigate, we've added a new "Landmark" feature, which lets you see the peaks and paths you've discovered on your runs so far when scanning the landscape - and with a quick button press, lets you jump to the associated map. Finally, this update also has a few new story surprises in store to discover...
- Behind the scenes chat with Jon and Joe - 8 May 2024
Come and join inkle's co-founders Joseph Humfrey and Jon Ingold - game director and narrative director of A Highland Song, respectively - as they discuss the game's origins, their approach to game design and more.
- IGF 2024 finalists are yet again more proof that RPS is right about everything - 11 January 2024
The Independent Games Festival awards - aka: the only awards that are actually worth paying attention to - have announced the finalists for their 2024 cohort, and wouldn't you know it, there are lots of RPS-endorsed games in there, lemme tell ya. Cooking adventure Venba leads the pack with a total of four nominations, but it's closely followed by Cocoon , A Highland Song , Mediterranea Inferno and 1000xResist, all of which have scooped three noms apiece. Read more
- v1.1.3 - Keybinding! - 20 December 2023
v1.1.3 patch notes This build brings full keybinding to the game for those who prefer to play using WASD or another configuration. There's also a minor fix to an uninteractable beacon, which was blocking an achievement. Apologies for that one, it was daft as a brush. Enjoy!
- New update - Version 1.1.0 - 14 December 2023
As ever, thanks to all the players who've sent in feedback and shared their thoughts on the game! This update takes us to Version 1.1.0, and rounds off work on the new Look Further mode. If you've been following along, Look Further adds a new way to scan the current level by zooming out a little further than usual. This mode gives you more context of where you are, and this latest update adds route highlighting so you can see the layout of the level clearly, as well as a handy hint from Moira as to what you might want to try next. We've also added a checkbox in Settings to disable the lightning effect, for anyone who finds flashing lights disruptive, and fixed an issue where the game didn't save after completing a run until you started the next one (it now saves right after the summary panel). There's a few little story and level fixes as well, including fixes for an explosion that soft…
- v1.0.31 - Minor fixes - 11 December 2023
v1.0.31 patch notes Minor fixes only this time! Fix for an echoey cave that shouldn't have been quite so... quiet? Save vSync setting between sessions Add a few more rough shelters Fix a few places where the game wasn't giving out the most helpful maps Minor flow fixes We've got a few more QoL features planned before the holiday break, so look out for those! Thanks again for playing, and please let us know if you have any issues with this update, and don't forget to leave us a review. Thanks!
- v1.0.30 - "Look Further" mode - 8 December 2023
v1.0.30 patch notes (new feature!) Thanks to everyone's who's been playing A Highland Song, leaving reviews, and sending us feedback here and via our Discord server. One theme that's been coming through is needing a bit context sometimes - to see where you are in the current level, and plan which way you want to go. While this is a game about getting lost it's not a game about doing the same thing over and over again (hence new game plus being all about going a different way!) so we've added a new feature to help: "Look further." To use this feature, zoom out the camera as normal. Then if you hold it out there for a second, you'll get a prompt to activate "look further" mode. This will pull the camera a little further back and also allow you to move it around, so you can take in the surrounding area and plan your route. (We also reduce the fog effects a bit so it's easier to see.) Note…
- v1.0.27 - hotfix - 6 December 2023
v1.0.27 patch notes (minor post-launch hotfixes) VSync toggle in settings as possible fix for screen tearing on some setups Fix for "achievement" appearing in a choice text! Fix for a particularly nasty cave dead-end on the far side of a belly wriggle Fix for credits on wide monitors Minor text and level polish Thanks for everyone who's picked up the game so far! More tweaks are in the works, but let us know if you have any issues with this update.
- A Highland Song review: a beautiful snapshot of wild places that stumbles a little - 5 December 2023
A while back, I had a feeling we'd see a lot of games about nature and plants and the wild coming out over the next few years, as developers and players alike emerged from being shut inside for basically a year like dairy cows during their annual spring turnout . We may not all be not be naturally disposed to it, but there's much to be said for the fleeting, if unbridled happiness that comes from running barefoot into the teeth of the wind or getting caught in a rainstorm without a coat. Nine times out of ten, you might get wet and have cold fingers, but that one time that you get wet, have cold fingers and feel red-raw and alive is a doozy. A Highland Song , a lone and dangerous jaunt through the Scottish highlands, is trying to capture that feeling, most especially in segments where you sprint across rocks and heather alongside a deer. At these times you leap in time to swelling music…
- Rhythmic hiking game from the makers of 80 Days will launch next month - 14 November 2023
A Highland Song , Inkle's Scottish rhythm mountain climbing game, now has a release date of December 5th. I'm Scottish, I spent my childhood walking up mountains, and I'm a long-time fan of Inkle, so it's kind of them to make this game specifically for me. Hop below for a new trailer, too. Read more
- Tribeca Spotlight - 9 June 2023
A Highland Song has been picked as one of the official festival games by TriBeCa in New York, and their livestream deep-dive into the 7 games starts... any moment now! Check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4T9biGlNa8
- The Music of A Highland Song - 10 February 2022
The initial concept of A Highland Song - running madly down a hillside, in time to whirling Scottish folk music - was initially inspired by the music of Talisk, a chart-topping, multi-award-winning folk band, whose virtuosic, energetic playing has made them internationally renown. So we were absolutely thrilled when, last year, we were able to sign the band up to provide music for the game. Their sound is fast, frenetic, atmospheric, and above all, packed with pace. It has the energy of modern dance music but it's all played live, together, on real instruments, at a good hundred and twenty beats per minute. Their second album, Beyond, rose to No.1 in the iTunes world music charts upon its release in 2018. But that's not all - one of Talisk's core members, Mohsen Amini, who plays concertina - brought a second band to the game. Fourth Moon are a newer group, formed in the early hours of a…
