Minority, the Montreal-based indie studio behind Papo & Yo, doesn’t have to reaffirm its stance on seeking out and delivering thought-provoking concepts to the video game industry; Papo & Yo is already shaping up to be one of this year’s heaviest indie games.
Not everyone has had the chance to experience Papo & Yo yet, but you can take my word for it when I say that, like many of our favorite games, Minority’s upcoming puzzle/platformer packs a ton of subtle details and audial/visual beauty.
Take, for example, the game’s graffiti: even though it’ll only appear as background level art, each piece has been carefully chosen and digitalized for a reason.
“In Papo & Yo, players will notice images of birds, lions and portraits that appear sprayed, drawn, or painted on walls through all five acts,” said Deborah Chantson, Minority’s community manager, via the PlayStation Blog.
“It’s worth noting that these are real works of graffiti art licenced for use in the game, taken from the vibrant street art scene in major cities like Brazil’s Sao Paulo, and Chile’s Valparaiso and Santiago,” she added.
Much of the game’s graffiti is actually borrowed from real life artists (mentioned below), and their work can be seen expertly transitioned into the experience.
“Sebastian Navarro (AKA Charquipunk), Simon Paulo Arancibia Gutierrez (AKA La Robot de Madera) and Inti Castro (AKA INTI) are the three celebrity graffiti artists lending their work to Papo & Yo. Charquipunk is known for his intricately detailed large-scale designs of cats and birds, while La Robot de Madera focuses on elaborate portraits. INTI is known for his work with kusillo, the Altiplano carnival clown whose costumes consist of clothing scraps. When they collaborate, which is often, each artist’s style is still distinct, but their synergy is electric.”
You can take in Papo & Yo’s breathtaking graffiti when it releases exclusively on PlayStation Network starting August 14.