Back in 2022, The Last of Us co-creator Bruce Straley announced a new studio, Wildflower Interactive. Now, Wildflower has finally shown off its first game, and it could hardly be more different from Straley’s best-known title. Debuting at The Game Awards 2025, Coven of the Chicken Foot is more Ico than The Last of Us, with a striking art style and an original premise that puts an unconventional heroine at the forefront.
There are still a lot of gaps left by the game’s short reveal trailer, but it showed enough to stir up interest. Coven of the Chicken Foot stars an elderly witch named Gertie and her companion, a hulking creature with long, gangly arms and a smattering of white feathers across its back. The unusual pair is working together “to fulfill an oath,” according to Wildflower, but their exact goal isn’t yet clear.
What the trailer highlights is how the two will interact. A montage shows the creature catching Gertie after a long fall, and the pair working together to solve puzzles by tossing items back and forth and helping each other navigate through forests and dungeons. There’s no combat, but Gertie does have to dodge enemies attacking at range, and at one point, her companion (or another creature that looks just like it) flies into a rage and pushes her to the ground.
The most interesting part of their interactions is the creature itself. At various points in the trailer, it’s seen exploring caverns on its own, heading out in front while looking over its shoulder to check on Gertie, and otherwise acting on its own accord. It seems it will have at least some ability to make its own decisions, rather than waiting for the player to give it marching orders.
“Built on pioneering technology, Wildflower Interactive has crafted a non-playable ally unlike any other,” the studio’s press release says. “A dynamic, responsive creature that reacts and evolves its abilities and motivations throughout the player’s experience.”
Wildflower says that the creature will pick up cues from how you play, which will determine how it behaves when you’re solving puzzles or exploring the world. That description evokes shades of Team Ico’s games, as well as the dynamic pawns of Dragon’s Dogma.
Gertie herself is a more compelling protagonist than most. In the trailer, she walks hunched over at a slow pace, taking her time when picking up objects or navigating the world (and reminding me of my own grandma in the process). How such an atypical protagonist shapes Coven of the Chicken Foot will be interesting to see, but Wildflower emphasizes that collaboration and care are cornerstones of how Gertie interacts with the game’s world.
Coven of the Chicken Foot doesn’t have a release date or platforms announced yet, but its Game Awards appearance certainly grabbed attention on a stage that usually hosts far bigger and brasher titles. While it’s a far cry from Straley’s other work, Coven of the Chicken Foot’s development team also includes some of the creators of games like The Pathless, Abzu, and Kena: Bridge of Spirits, and their influence seems clear so far. It may not be the most explosive game revealed at the Game Awards, but it’s exactly that unexpected pace that makes it one of the most interesting games of the show.
