The Josef Fares-directed co-op games from Hazelight have been so good – and crucially, also so commercially successful – that it’s about time we started seeing some other developers trying to get in on that artistically beautiful, mandatory two-player action. And Out of Words, from poet Morten Søndergaard and co-developers WiredFly and Kong Orange, not only fits the mold cast by Fares, but has the potential to be as good as anything the former filmmaker has made so far.
It’s purely coincidental that Out of Words has so much in common with Hazelight’s games, but it’s an interesting coincidence nonetheless. Søndergaard, like Fares, is a European artist who came from outside of the games industry. And Out of Words promises an emotional two-player coming-of-age physics-based puzzle platforming journey for its pair of handcrafted protagonists, Kurt and Karla. Those parallels aside, though, Out of Words very clearly looks set to stand tall on its own two feet. First of all, it’s absolutely gorgeous, and completely handmade. Literally. Each character and set piece was made in real life and painstakingly animated frame by frame. In motion it looks – and sounds – absolutely gorgeous. I got to play it for a quick 20 minutes, but if the entire game is anything like my brief hands-on, then this could be up there with anything Hazelight has made so far.
Søndergaard jumped me around to a few different parts of the story, but I got to see a bit of the beginning, when Kurt and Karla find themselves transported to Vokabulantis just as they are each trying to find the words to say that they have feelings for each other. They awaken to find that they have no mouths – kinda like that part in The Matrix, but less disturbing – and must find new ways to communicate. This translates in game terms to co-op puzzles, usually physics-based.
For instance, in one section I played, whichever one of you held Aleph, a pet creature that is a literal symbol of your friendship, would have their gravity reversed and float up to the ceiling, while the other stayed on the ground. Navigating through various vertically oriented sections required careful timing of both jumping and tossing Aleph to the other person, lest one of you fall into the abyss. In another area, Kurt and Karla came to an area under Vokabulantis, where books are stacked everywhere and the doubt about their feelings for each other is represented by literal darkness. And in yet another spot, you both become a ball of primordial clay with each of you controlling an arm that can jut out from the body of the clay ball to grab onto the environment. You must work together to successfully work your way through all of the obstacles in your path.
I mentioned music earlier for good reason. During a serene early moment, as the two of you run across a puddle-strewn grassy field, a subtle-but-powerful musical note hits every time either of you jumps and lands back on the ground. Hopefully there are more moments like that throughout Out of Words’s run, as it added a poignant punch to what promises to be a very emotional game.
Look, if all of this sounds…weird, I get it. It’s definitely weird. But when you and a friend sit down to play it, via cross-play online co-op or together on a couch in same-screen, it’ll all start to make sense. I can’t say I’ve played a game quite like Out of Words. Sure, it has a lot in common with Hazelight’s body of work, but it’s also very much its own unique expression of art and story. The art I can already definitively vouch for, and the story? Well, let’s see what kind of metaphors, morals, and moments the poet Søndergaard can deliver when Out of Words ships for PC (via Epic Games Store), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2026. I can’t wait.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
