Hope in the City

Hope in the City is a narrative detective adventure about 17-year-old Hope Song. Her parents disappear and her apartment is ransacked. Because she cannot count on outside help, the aspiring artist sets out to find answers herself.

The adventure is set in Shenyang in northeast China. Instead of classic police work, the focus is on observation, drawings and linking clues together.

Hope in the City releases on Nov 11, 2026 for PC and Xbox Series X|S. The adventure is offered on Steam, the Microsoft Store and through Xbox Game Pass. A free demo is already available on Steam.

The Windows version is released on Steam and via the Microsoft Store. On console, Hope in the City is released for Xbox Series X|S. Xbox Play Anywhere lets you switch between supported PC and console devices within Microsoft's platforms.

The game is designed for one player. A release for PlayStation or Nintendo Switch has not been announced.

Hope examines rooms, streets and encounters for unusual details. She records observations in her sketchbook. Only when several impressions can be meaningfully connected do new insights emerge for the continued search.

The puzzle design is therefore not just about clicking on individual objects. It requires you to recognise connections between different observations and draw conclusions from them.

For PC, Steam lists at least 4 GB RAM, an Intel Core i7-2600K, a GeForce GTX 560 and 3 GB of free storage. Recommended are 8 GB RAM, a Core i5-10400F, a GeForce GTX 1060 and 10 GB of storage. The current Steam client requires Windows 10 or later.

Hope collects what she notices during exploration in her sketchbook. Drawings become clues and can be linked with other observations. These connections form a web of thoughts that opens up new investigative steps.

The drawing mechanic is directly tied to the story. Hope uses her artistic perception to capture traces that others walk past.

Hope in the City is set in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang. Streets, shops and residential districts form an environment in which the search for her family unfolds. Hope and mistrust sit side by side, because Hope does not know whom she can trust with her observations.

The city has a stylised design. High-contrast colours, geometric shapes and specially staged cutscenes define the visual style.

Hope Song is about to sit important school exams when she finds her apartment wrecked. Her parents are nowhere to be found. Her search for them takes her through Shenyang and gradually makes her doubt the seemingly familiar surroundings.

The story unfolds through explored locations, conversations and clues. What lies behind the disappearance is for you to discover in the game.

Hope in the City is a single-player adventure with two playstyles to choose from. Story mode is for players who mainly want to experience the plot. Detective mode places greater demands on your own tracking of clues and linking them together.

Both versions are part of the updated free PC demo, which is offered before the release on Steam.

The Steam version supports English with full voice acting, as well as subtitles and menus in Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese and Japanese. German on-screen text is not listed on the Steam page.

Hope in the City is developed by Lofty Sky Entertainment. The studio publishes the game together with NAGA Games. The mystery adventure Sky of Tides also comes from the studio's circle.

Gameplay comes from combining exploration, visual observation and sorting out your thoughts. A look at a seemingly minor detail can open up a new connection. This kind of investigation is the opposite of conventional inventory puzzles.