Hello Again, And The World's Coziest Time Loop

Explore ancient ruins and solve puzzles to learn more about the island

Twelve Hours, Over And Over Again

Welcome To The Lovely Island Of Mychaea

Hello Again is a cute puzzle-adventure game where you play as the unnamed postal worker ferret who is sent off to deliver a package to the famous archaeologist Weston in the remote island of Mychaea. Unfortunately, things happen, and you end up shipwrecked on the very same island. To add to that, Mychaea is trapped inside an unexplainable eternal 12-hour time loop. Oof.

In Hello Again, you will get to explore ancient ruins and solve clockwork puzzles that hide the secrets of the island and the forgotten story of the people that inhabited the island thousands of years ago…and hopefully a way to break the time loop. Keep a close eye on your clock as you explore though, because these ruins shift along with the time cycle. But if things don’t go the way you want, don’t worry! A strange material called perpetuum that reacts to the loop’s effects may help you in these sticky situations.

Also, you’re not alone on this peculiar little island! You can chat with singer-songwriter Stew, sunshine-y and confident Theodore, sleazy businessman Gus, or perfumier Chauncey. The more the merrier in a little cozy time loop!

The Power Of One

Soup Island is a one-man studio by developer Dwight Davis, who has been developing Hello Again since summer of 2021 “as a love letter to the many indie puzzle games” which he has enjoyed over the years. The game blends the puzzle mechanic and exploration of Outer Wilds with the social mechanics and vibes of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley.

A lot of changes happened during development, even going as far as to scrap entire designs of the game’s cast (which was originally all human) and even the level designs. “I was never very happy with the look of Hello Again. Playtesters often struggled with the readability of the world, as this flat, blocky perspective made it hard to tell high ground from low ground. Frankly, I always secretly thought that this whole style was kinda ugly. That’s a sad feeling to have about your own game,” Davis noted in his dev blog-slash-newsletter.

“So I made a bold decision. I decided to completely throw out tilemaps and custom-draw everything.” While most of the code was still usable, most of the designs had to be hand-drawn from scratch. In addition to that, Hello Again was selected to be featured in huge video game showcases for all the world to see, namely Day of the Devs and the Wholesome Direct. So he got to work, and managed to put out a great sneak peek just in time.

As of Davis’ June update post, he notes that the game soared to a whopping 10.5k wishlists after being featured in the Summer Game Fest events.

Stay updated with the latest happenings on Hello Again through Soup Island’s social media platforms (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter/X) and development blog! He frequently posts about the game and keeps viewers updated.

Step Into A Colorful Time Loop Island

With its vivid color palette and quirky style coupled with an interesting time looping mechanic, Hello Again is surely a game to look forward to. The preview trailer gives a nice sneak peek of what the game will entail, narrated by developer Dwight Davis himself. As a work from a solo developer motivated by his love and appreciation for games, getting featured in a large-scale showcase such as Day of the Devs is an amazing feat, and those who have selected him and Hello Again to be presented might have just seen something striking about this cozy time looping game.

Hello Again has no confirmed release date yet as of writing, but it’s slated for a 2025 release on PC via Steam.