Xbox Game Pass gets a new detective mystery on November 11, and your best tool is a sketchbook
Hope in the City arrives on November 11 for PC and Xbox Series X and S, with a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. The mystery follows a teenage artist who uses drawings, conversations and the connections between clues to investigate her parents' disappearance.
Developer Lofty Sky says the game is set in Shenyang in northeast China. Players take the role of 17-year-old Hope Song, who returns home to find her family's apartment ransacked and her parents gone. She had been preparing to leave for art school overseas. Rather than playing as a trained investigator, players work with what Hope can observe and record in her notebook.
The game is also coming to Steam. Xbox's November Game Pass announcement lists the game for cloud, Xbox Series X|S and PC on November 11. Availability through the subscription depends on the supported plan and platform; a Game Pass subscription is not a permanent purchase of the game.
Image: Lofty Sky Games / Xbox
The notebook connects clues and conversations
As Hope explores the city, she records observations and clues as sketches. Players can combine two thoughts in the notebook to look for a connection. When an idea leads to a breakthrough, it can open new conversations, locations or leads.
In a developer article on Xbox Wire, creative director Judith Cheung explains that the team wanted the notebook to reflect how Hope thinks, even when other characters are unwilling to answer her questions. The writers created individual responses for combinations that do not advance the investigation as well as those that do.
That does not mean every combination solves a puzzle. Some responses reveal Hope's personality or offer hints, while the player still needs to decide which information matters and what to ask other characters. The developer says it refined the interface and clues after watching players during testing.
Image: Lofty Sky Games / Xbox
More than 100 hand-drawn sketches
Artist Calista Antonio created more than 100 sketches for the notebook, according to Cheung. The artwork was developed using game models to establish perspective and poses, followed by drawing and digital watercolor. Antonio, who has Chinese heritage, left Asia at 17 to study art in Canada and drew on that experience when creating Hope's sketches.
The notebook's illustrations are designed as Hope's impressions rather than a conventional inventory of polished objects. Some of Antonio's own paintings also appear in the character's bedroom, the developer says.
Hope in the City is a narrative mystery built around observing, thinking and talking to people. The developer says the notebook helps players revisit information they have collected and bring related ideas together as the investigation progresses.
Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members can look for it on November 11. Those who prefer Steam can buy the PC version separately, and should check the final release timing and system requirements on the store page.
