In a time where AI is insidiously seeping into almost everything around us, even our video games, completely 100% handmade art made with heart (side note: can we get that on a t-shirt?) is becoming almost novel. That\u2019s why I was drawn to Out of Words\u2013it\u2019s an ambitious, gorgeous stop-motion co-op 2D platformer where everything, down to each blade of grass and piece of moss, is meticulously handmade in the real world with physical mediums. <\/p>\n
Out of Words\u2019 story is even inspired by a poem written by Danish poet Morten S\u00f8ndergaard, and every component of the world and setting is allegorically built from language, communication, and human connection. I didn\u2019t get to see the story setup of Out of Words myself, but game design lead Jeff Sparks explained it to me during my short-but-sweet 20-minute demo at Summer Game Fest. <\/p>\n
In Out of Words, the playable characters Kurt and Karla are best friends who grew up together, who have developed changing feelings for each other as they enter adolescence, yet they simply won\u2019t speak the words\u2013so they lose them all together when they fail to express themselves in a moment before crossing a street. They become isekaid (magically thrust into another world) into a mystical land called Vokabulantis, yet they\u2019ve lost their mouths\u2013and words\u2013along the way. Their mouth mysteriously becomes a cute creature, Aleph, that grants them powers throughout their journey. <\/p>\n
We\u2019ve actually written about Out of Words last year, citing it as possibly being the next must-play two-player co-op, but I did get to see and learn some new things during my gameplay-heavy demo with Sparks. <\/p>\n
For our first real obstacle, we helped Prince get out of the mud on his motorcycle. The little mini-game-esque task was fun and simple enough, and the animation of mud flinging all over our characters who couldn\u2019t complain was just as entertaining. I couldn\u2019t help but imagine how gross it\u2019d be to be in that situation myself. <\/p>\n
You can actually watch the whole process of making Prince\u2019s puppet in the official \u201cmaking of\u201d video below, which I highly recommend if you\u2019re curious about the painstaking artistry that goes into every puppet in Out of Words. <\/p>\n
Next, we skipped ahead through a few different acts, to get a sense of the different environments, gameplay elements, and moods that Out of Words had to offer. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe did hundreds of prototypes trying to make the narrative kind of situation between the two characters line up with what was happening gameplay-wise,\u201d Sparks explained. \u201cSo we’ve done hundreds of kinds of co-op game mechanics trying to figure out what was going to be suitable.\u201d <\/p>\n
In one of the areas we encountered, there was a narrative reason the atmosphere felt dark and heavy, and that the creatures seemed more spooky than usual. One portion I played with anti-gravity, which required us to walk on the ceilings and walls, were some of the first mechanics the team ever conceived\u2013which also has a narrative allegory, but I don\u2019t want to spoil anything for anyone.<\/p>\n
Sparks couldn\u2019t help but express how surreal it was to see the area rendered with the level of finish it was at\u2013with moss, stone, and clay bringing it to life. I wholeheartedly agree it looked incredible, as did the rest of what I played. The artistic lighting and bokeh techniques to communicate perspective and focus made everything even more beautiful and atmospheric.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nOut of Words Screenshots June 2026<\/h3>\n