Infinite Bread, Infinite Chaos: The Bench Promises Pigeon-Powered Mayhem (and a 'Charming' Adventure?)
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Get ready for `The Bench`, an upcoming indie game that lets you play a senior citizen escaping a retirement home with an army of bread-bribed pigeons, capable of everything from solving puzzles to surprisingly violent acts of feathered mayhem.
Right, so you know those mornings when you're just messing about, tossing a bit of an old croissant to the local pigeons, and suddenly you're wondering, "What if these feathered fiends could do my bidding?" No? Just me then. Well, if you *have* ever had that thought, or if you're just a curious soul who enjoys a good spot of digital anarchy, then strap in, mate, because we've got to talk about `The Bench`.
This absolute gem of an indie title, coming out later this month, seems to be pitching us a game where you play a wise, seasoned senior citizen – already a brilliant premise, let's be fair – who's looking to escape the clutches of the retirement home for a life of freedom. And how does one achieve this noble goal? Why, by finding hidden objects, solving quirky puzzles, and, naturally, commanding a loyal army of sky-borne scavengers. Oh, and you've got infinite bread. Because, obviously.
Now, the Steam page, bless its optimistic little heart, coos about a "charming, interactive adventure." And look, I'm all for charming. I love a good cozy game as much as the next wizard who accidentally opened a portal to a dimension made entirely of cat memes. But then you watch the trailer, and `bloody hell`, it’s like someone took that charming concept, gave it a mischievous wink, and then shoved a pigeon in a helium tank. We're talking some serious bird-related grievous bodily harm here, which, frankly, sounds a touch more exhilarating than 'charming.'
I'm not pulling your leg, either. The footage gleefully shows off a veritable smorgasbord of avian-assisted destruction. We're talking: launching a pigeon at a stack of boxes to knock someone out. Or, for the purists, just lobbing a stale piece of bread directly at someone's forehead to achieve the same result. You can hurl a pigeon at a fat iron padlock (presumably breaking it with the sheer force of avian indignation), or, and this is where my curiosity truly piqued, sending a bird into a helium tank to *blow up a balloon seller's cart*. Talk about escalation! And then, just when you think you've seen it all, there's a moment where you can just straight up drown someone. A senior citizen. With pigeons. Fair dinkum.
It’s like they asked, “What’s the most unexpected protagonist for a game that lets you become a feathered crime lord?” and then immediately answered, “A sweet old fella with an unlimited bread supply and a thirst for (literal) freedom.” I reckon that's genius, isn't it? It completely sidesteps the usual power fantasies and lands squarely in a new, delightful realm of 'optimistically chaotic' game design.
Beyond the rather spectacular pigeon-based violence, the game also promises the aforementioned hidden objects, which are usually a nice little mental tickle, and mini-games like solving newspaper puzzles, playing chess, bowls, or going fishing. So, you're not *just* a bird-commanding criminal mastermind; you're also a well-rounded retiree enjoying the finer things in life between acts of feathered terror. It’s a wonderful contrast, isn't it? One minute you're delicately placing a knight on a chessboard, the next you're plotting how to use a flock of pigeons to disarm a security guard and facilitate your escape.
This isn't just another game about collecting things or mashing buttons. It feels like `The Bench` is tapping into that primal urge we all secretly harbour – the desire to cause a bit of harmless (or not so harmless, apparently) mischief, but with a unique, avian twist. It’s the kind of premise that makes you wonder about the developers, Voxel Studios. Were they just feeding pigeons one day and had an epiphany? Did they accidentally give a bird an extra crumb and watch it organise its brethren for a coordinated attack on a dropped ice cream? Whatever the origin story, I'm genuinely excited to see an indie studio swing for the fences with such an unashamedly bonkers concept.
What truly sets this apart is its irreverent approach to a typically mundane setting. Retirement homes are usually depicted as places of quiet contemplation, not launchpads for geriatric, bird-powered escapes. It's a delightful subversion of expectations, offering a playful rebellion against the ordinary. This isn't just about 'fixing' something that wasn't broken; it's about breaking `everything` in a wonderfully new way.
It's moments like these in gaming news that remind me why I love this industry. When a title comes along that isn't just another sequel, or another battle royale, or another gritty shooter, but something genuinely fresh and laugh-out-loud absurd. `The Bench` looks like it could be a masterclass in combining genuine charm with outright, unapologetic chaos. I'm cautiously optimistic that it'll deliver on the promise of both its 'charming' puzzles and its 'pigeon-related grievous bodily harm' – hopefully leaning a little heavier on the latter, if I'm being honest.
So, if you're keen to embark on an adventure where your golden years are less about bingo and more about strategically deploying winged accomplices to achieve liberation, mark your calendars. `The Bench` is set to unleash its particular brand of elderly avian anarchy on October 24th. I've got a feeling it's going to be a riot, mate.
Repurposed from an article by Nic Reuben for Rock Paper Shotgun.
Tags: indie game, adventure game, puzzle game, humor, animal companion
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun