Where the Heart Leads tells the story of Whit Anderson, who, one stormy night, tumbles into an enormous sinkhole while attempting to save his golden retriever Casey. Unexpectedly, Whit emerges in a strange world where snatches of his past, present, future unfold like a dream - vignettes that can be altered to forever change the course of his and others’ lives. It’s the choices available during these pivotal junctures in Whit’s life that form the core of Where the Heart Leads. By manipulating any of the “thousands” of malleable moments promised, players can steer Whit’s life toward dozens of different endings. By way of example, you’ll find one such choice in Where the Heart Leads’ latest trailer above. Here, Whit’s rental home has been destroyed, and you’re able to decide whether to sell some land bequeathed to his wife or “get creative”, resulting in two substantially different outcomes that each open up new narrative branches to explore. “What you will and won’t see, I do not know,” explains director Todd Keller on the PlayStation blog. “Each player might only see a fraction of the game on their original playthrough, and that’s okay, because it’s your story. The differences span chapters, so while not immediately apparent, small things could lead up to huge deviations.” It’s a fascinating premise and we’ll discover just how well it all comes together when Where the Heart Leads launches on PlayStation 4 (it’s playable via PlayStation 5 too) on 13th July.
