Despite having been announced at the PS5’s reveal in 2020, we’ve heard very little about Goodbye Volcano High since – until today’s State of Play, when we finally got to see a trailer with some gameplay, and a June 14 release date for PC, PS4 and PS5. Made by worker-owned game studio KO_OP, Goodbye Volcano High looks like a game that’s incredibly in touch with internet culture (dril tweet in the trailer, not joking), while exploring queer narratives… and also featuring anthropomorphic dinosaurs.
The game centres on the band Worm Drama and its members in their final year of high school: nonbinary vocalist Fang, guitarist Trish, and drummer Reed, as well as other members of their school. I was immediately drawn in by the mellow, complex soundtrack (they have two songs from the game on Bandcamp) composed by Dabu, who also composed Dwarf Fortress, and featuring vocalist Brigitte Naggar. Don’t Call is an absolute earworm. Considering the game has been confirmed to be a narratively-driven rhythm game, this is all the more important.
However, I am always most preoccupied with stories, and I think Goodbye Volcano High’s has the potential to be very poignant. This story is set before the end of civilisation as they know it – namely, the catastrophic impact of an asteroid that made the dinosaurs and most species on earth extinct. There seems to be an underlying theme of feeling like there isn’t enough time to do what we’re supposed to or want to, which is a common feeling in all stages of life, but it’s especially magnified during your formative teenage years, and dialled up exponentially by the characters’ seeming knowledge that everything is actually going to end. One exasperated character asks, “How are we supposed to just be fine?!”, and as a young person living in a world that seems slated for self-destruction (climate change, war, etc.), I felt that.
I first heard of the game when it made headlines last year for being targeted by alt-right 4chan users, who made a ‘fan’ game (‘fan’ is a big stretch) with assets from the original game. Because Volcano High’s protagonist is nonbinary, the developers of the parody naturally had the character detransition with help from the player and included a school shooting in one of the game’s endings. This anti-LGBT project and targeted harassment of the devs likely has taken a toll on the Goodbye Volcano High team, which faced additional hurdles in the form of the pandemic and a major member of the team leaving, but the game is finally coming, and I, for one, can’t wait.
I think it’s incredible that a queer game is being made, by a worker-owned studio, featuring queer people, and that it’s built such a supportive community around it, and all this despite a targeted harassment campaign. From what we’ve seen of the game so far, I’m optimistic that it’s going to be a well-directed, well-soundtracked banger, but only time will tell if it lives up to its fans’ expectations. The game’s characters are right, there never is enough time, but I’m happy to give some of mine to experience this game.