Dropsy, an upcoming surrealist point and click adventure game from Florida-based developer Jay Tholen, now has a release date. Dropsy the clown and his big adventure across this – and the otherworld – will arrive on September 10 on PC, and Android devices.

If you haven’t familiarized yourself with the game and its titular character, prepare to furl your brow as you watch the latest trailer. In it we see Dropsy, a sweet but unusual-looking clown with innocent intentions. After being blamed for the circus fire that claimed his livelihood, Dropsy travels the land searching for answers and hugging strangers along the way. The game will be text-less and take Dropsy into a variety of real and otherworldly locations as he searches for answers to his dark past. He also twerks at one point.

Dropsy, the game, looks like a playable acid trip. It’s really weird and goofy. I can’t wait to play it. As for the character … he seems nice …

Now this is not adventure.What it is, is HUGventure,because your character is hugging everybody he can get.Dropsy’s world you’ll encounter people from all walks of life, as well as animals from time to time. Each seem to be in some form of distress and it’s up to you to discover the nature of their problems and set about to make things right.

If can you deduce what’s making them unhappy, you’ll be rewarded with a satisfying hug or fist bump from the NPC, and collect their picture to hang above your bed. This gallery functions as a sort of tally board for all of the good deeds you’ve done and the positive changes you’ve made in the world. It’s quite addictive, and one of the most fulfilling side quests that I’ve seen in a game.

The mechanics in Tholen’s point-and-click are what you’ve become accustomed to in the genre – certain objects in environment are interactive, serving to either shed light on the broader backstory of the game, or move the narrative forward. Items that can be collected are stored in Dropsy’s pants. A drop-down menu at the top of the screen allows you to access these as needed.

One of the first puzzles you’ll encounter is a large yellow bird that is blocking the exit from Dropsy’s tent. When you attempt to communicate with it, the bird screams atDropsy, startling him, and a series of pictures appears above its head cluing you in to the nature of its distress.

In this instance, the bird is hungry, and it just so happens that Dropsy has recently acquired the snack cakes the bird’s icons indicate. Bring down the menu, select the item required and offer it to the NPC. Now that the bird’s no longer hungry it flies away and the path is clear.

By displaying kindness and an unselfish, caring demeanor in the face of a fearful and prejudiced world, Dropsy overcomes the obstacles that are placed in his path, proving that if given the chance, perhaps love truly can conquer all. This seems to be the central theme in Jay’s game and it’s a beautiful one.

I won’t go further into detail on the particular puzzle elements or the many weird and wonderful characters you’ll encounter in the strangely enchanting world of Dropsy at the risk of possibly spoiling the game for you. I’ll just leave off saying that for those who are planning on picking up this exceptional title, you’re in for something truly special.

Dropsy began on the Something Awful forums in 2008 as a choose-your-own adventure game illustrated by Jay Tholen about a clown named Dropsy; forum commentators would suggest what the character would do and the choices would be illustrated and added to the story. The character originated from a platformer game created by Tholen in 2004. Demand for a playable version of the story increased and so Tholen began designing a game based around the story with the help of some members of the forum. Tholen cites games such as EarthBound, Grim Fandango, and The Neverhood as inspirations for the game.In 2011 a Kickstarter campaign raised $225 USD to fund a software package to help development, followed by another campaign in July 2013 which did not reach its $25,000 USD goal.A third campaign, started in October 2013, asked for $14,000 USD and finished with nearly $25,000 USD raised.On October 31, Tholen released a short horror version of the game titled Dropsy and the Black Lodge.In November it was announced that Devolver Digital would be publishing the game, providing quality assurance and marketing, but not directing where the Kickstarter funds would be spent

• developer:Jay Tholen,Tendershoot
• publisher:Devolver Digital
• date of release:10.september 2015.