A missing roommate. An impossible apartment. A mystery that unfolds the deeper you go… ARTE France, Swing Swing Submarine and La Poule Noire bring a story of friendship, memory, and the places we call home to Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X and PS5
July 2nd, 2026 – ARTE France and French indie studios Swing Swing Submarine and La Poule Noire are delighted to reveal the release date for Looking For Fael, a 3D narrative puzzle adventure where players unravel the disappearance of Fael, an artist whose apartment has transformed into a bizarre, ever-shifting labyrinth. Looking For Fael will officially launch on July 16th for Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X and PS5
In Looking For Fael, players return home to find their roommate gone, and just a cryptic voicenote claiming they’re “lost in the apartment.” remaining. The apartment has taken on a life of its own though. Rooms fold into rooms, corridors loop impossibly, and each space feels like an echo of Fael’s memories, anxieties, and imagination.
Armed with the Game Leaf, a retro handheld console, navigate surreal environments, uncover clues, and solve puzzles that reveal the truth behind Fael’s disappearance. Every discovery brings players closer to understanding the world Fael built, and why he may not want to be found…
Blending handcrafted visual direction with environmental storytelling and intuitive spatial puzzles, Looking For Fael invites players on a journey through dreamlike apartments, lush overgrown interiors, and reality-bending spaces that celebrate creativity, friendship, and the search for meaning.
The game is the newest project from Swing Swing Submarine, the creators behind acclaimed titles such as Seasons After Fall and Tetrobot and Co., marking the studio’s first fully realised 3D puzzle-exploration experience.
For ARTE, Looking For Fael expands on the organisation’s decade-long commitment to narrative-driven, artistic games, following celebrated interactive titles such as Homo Machina, Gloomy Eyes, Vectronom, To Hell With The Ugly, Bury Me, My Love, 30 Birds, and others.
Store Pages:
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2521170/Looking_For_Fael/
About ARTE:
As a European public service cultural media, ARTE brings people together through creativity, storytelling, and innovation. Its rich catalogue of films, series, documentaries, video games, and podcasts nurtures a shared cultural imagination across Europe. For more than a decade, ARTE has co-produced and published acclaimed independent and auteur-driven video games, including Type:Rider, Homo Machina, Vectronom, Bury Me, My Love, To Hell with the Ugly, and 30 Birds.
For more information, visit ARTE Interactive’s official website.
About Swing Swing Submarine:
Founded by French developers Guillaume Bouchet and William David, Swing Swing Submarine is an independent studio known for imaginative, atmospheric games that blend narrative charm with clever puzzle design. Their previous titles; Seasons After Fall, Tetrobot and Co., and Blocks That Matter – have earned global recognition for their craftsmanship and emotional resonance. Looking For Fael continues the studio’s passion for creating thoughtful, expressive game worlds shaped by curiosity and discovery.
For more information, visit Swing Swing Submarine’s official website.
About La Poule Noire:
La Poule Noire is a cooperative of video game craftspeople working across Angoulême, Lannion, and Lyon, dedicated to proving that great games can be made without crunch or delays. The studio infuses its projects with a sharp comedic edge, poking fun at fashionable social phenomena along the way.
