Fresh from the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2026, Focus Entertainment and Berlin-based developer Mad About Pandas (the team behind the surreal Hitchhiker) have pulled back the curtain on their latest project: Yerba Buena.
Set to launch on May 26, 2026, this first-person puzzle-platformer takes us back to a stylised, glitch-infested 1976 San Francisco. But there’s a twist—you aren’t just visiting this world; you’re breaking its rules.
The World is Your Playground (Literally)
In Yerba Buena, you play as Barb, a young woman who discovers she is actually an NPC living in an abandoned video game world. As a mysterious “glitch” begins to unravel the fabric of her reality and a dangerous biker gang threatens the city, Barb must step up and become the protagonist she was never coded to be.
The core of the gameplay revolves around a tool called the Oscillator. This isn’t just another gadget; it introduces a “Copy and Paste” mechanic that looks set to redefine environmental puzzling.
Master the “Copy and Paste” Mechanic
The Oscillator allows you to scan objects and hijack their physical properties. See a trampoline? Copy its “bounciness” and paste it onto a kitchen table to reach higher ledges. Other confirmed abilities include:
Property Swapping: Turn solid walls into thin air or give heavy objects the weight of a feather.
Vector Manipulation: Copy the movement of a sliding door and apply it to an entire building to shift it across city blocks.
Gravity Flipping: Alter the orientation of the world to navigate the surreal, 70s-inspired architecture.
Why We’re Excited
Focus Entertainment has a knack for picking up titles with strong atmospheric identities, and Yerba Buena fits that mould perfectly. The combination of 1970s San Francisco aesthetics with a “game-within-a-game” narrative layer feels like a love letter to both retro culture and game design itself.
“Your world is a game, so break the rules!” — Focus Entertainment
The reveal trailer showcases a vibrant, almost psychedelic art style that perfectly captures the era while leaning into the “abandoned software” vibe with visual artefacts and reality-bending puzzles.
Release Details
You won’t have to wait long to start manipulating reality. Yerba Buena is scheduled for release on May 26, 2026.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Developer: Mad About Pandas
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
The game is available for wishlisting on Steam and the PlayStation/Xbox stores right now. If you’re looking for a puzzle game that encourages you to exploit its own physics, this is definitely one to keep on your radar.
Find out more here on Steam – https://shorturl.at/KEgZT
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