Sunset

It's 1972 and a military coup has rocked Anchuria, a small country in Latin America. As a result, you, Angela Burnes, US citizen, are trapped in the metropolitan capital of San Bavón. Your paradise has turned into a warzone. To make ends meet, you take up a job as a housekeeper. Every week, an hour before sunset, you clean the swanky bachelor pad of the wealthy Gabriel Ortega. You are given a number of tasks to do, but the temptation to go through his stuff is irresistible. And what is he up to? As you get to know your mysterious absent employer better, you are sucked into a rebellious plot against the notorious dictator who rules the country with an iron fist.

Sunset is a narrative-driven first-person exploration game that centers on the discovery of clues to a story that takes place as you play.

Sunset is in part inspired by action games set in a war-like context, like many first-person shooters. What life would be like for the NPCs in such games? How does it feel when war is the backdrop for your day-to-day life?

How the game is played

Sunset is divided into 44 play sessions that each take a fictional hour: until the sun sets. Each time you get a list of tasks that you are requested to do. But there is more to do in the apartment than just work. There are other activities, such as going through the owner's possessions in search of information, and interacting with his 1970s-era technological gadgets.

The Story of Sunset

Angela Burnes, is not an empty vessel. She has a personality of her own and you discover her thoughts while playing. As a US citizen at the end of the sixties, she is inspired by the Black Power and civil rights movements. In an effort to learn more about egality, she travels to the then socialist republic of Anchuria. During her visit, a US-backed military coup happens and she is disallowed from leaving the country. Her university degree is not recognized by the new regime and she is forced to work as a housekeeper to sustain herself.

Angela's younger brother, David, who had followed her to Anchuria ends up joining an underground resistance movement. And Angela must worry about what happens to him when the war begins in earnest.

Gabriel Ortega is a lover of the arts. Through his work as a curator he met Maria Luisa of the wealthy Veleta family. Thanks to the money from their families, Gabriel became a much celebrated benefactor of the arts. When the coup happened, theaters and museums were closed. The new government offered affluent citizens safety and positions of power. Gabriel's wife, and most of her family and their friends, were happy to accept but Gabriel refused. Rising tensions between the couple ultimately lead to a separation.

The story of Sunset begins when Gabriel Ortega moves into a new penthouse apartment in the capital city of San Bavón. It is in this apartment that Angela Burnes finds employment.

"Sunset uses the routine of labour to exquisite effect as a framework to tell a story about class and political revolution." – Simon Parkin, Eurogamer

"Sunset acts as a thoughtful, pensive walk through social themes and struggles not often explored in this medium." – Game Spot, Josiah Renaudin

"Sunset is a wonderfully atmospheric slow burner and a valuable addition to a medium where the predominant approach to conflict is to just give you a big old gun and invite you to get stuck in." – Philippa Warr, Rock Paper Shotgun

"The story is excellent and will draw you in, making you feel as if you truly are Angela Burnes." – Jessica Mock, Hardcore Gamer

"Rather than focus on the explicit violence of a military coup, Sunset centers on the emotional brutality of war." – Reid McCarter, Playboy Magazine

Also available:

The SUNSET USB Edition on Tale of Tales store
Get the game, Soundtrack, Art Books and other physical extras!

SUNSET Books are available as PDF and Paperbacks!

SUNSET Soundtrack by Austin Wintory and Collaborators on bandcamp:

Play the Sunset prequel game for free: A DAY IN SAN BAVON

Sunset has subtitles in Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, English, Italian, French, Dutch, German and Russian.