A-List pop star Skylar Maxine is hot right now, but her boyfriend of 15 years, Gabe, doesn’t think things are turning out as they planned when they were kids. True love turns violently into terror as Skylar takes the inevitable breakup…poorly. Endure an emotional onslaught of existential nightmares as Gabe attempts to escape the grasp of Skylar’s horrific new form.
Navigate a surreal world altered by Skylar’s psychological break and settle into a thoughtful horror story revolving around the stigma of mental illness, dependent identities, and abusive relationships.It’s not every day a 15-year toxic relationship turns into a monstrous nightmare, but today’s not every day. Skylar Maxine, after all, is not your typical woman: she’s an A-List pop star living in a sprawling L.A. mansion. Skylar’s a veritable icon, equal parts her childhood heroes, Hannah Montana and Marlyn Monroe, but once upon a time, she was simply Skylar, who started dating her childhood crush, Gabe, when they were 12. Now…things are different.
Unable to bear the nightmare their childhood dreams are turning into, Gabe must split with Skylar, a change she takes…poorly. Fearing the failure of fulfilling their lifelong goals together, Skylar’s mental stability dissolves, and untold horrors manifest in reality as an existential crisis.
Navigate Gabe and Skylar’s dream home in the Hollywood Hills as the 15-year couple breaks apart at the seams. Endure Skylar’s psychological breaks, warping their home and even Skylar herself in a tinsel-toned nightmare echoing shades of Mouthwashing meets La La Land and Midsommar. Sneak and hide through shifting labyrinthian rooms, ruined memories, and liminal spaces in hopes of surviving the emotional onslaught. As Skylar’s new form hunts Gabe, dark truths emerge, shedding a dangerous light on both their realities — or whatever remains of them.
“It's hard not to want to be like the perfect couples we see on TV,” said Ben Escobar, founder of Genie Boy Games. “Sweetheart shapeshifts these thoughts into a surreal tragedy that examines the early 2000s era as major networks turned children into stars, and the intense fallout of humanity it may have left in its wake. Between the horror and comedic elements lies an authentic, meaningful tale revolving around the stigma of mental illness, the gray areas of dependent identities, and ultimately overcoming abuse in a relationship.”
Contain love’s broken dreams when Sweetheart launches on Steam for Windows PC, Mac, and Linux, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch next year.
Independent video game channel over 20 years on YouTube (since 2006).
