TECHMASH

Tag: #YerbaBuena

  • Copy, Paste, and Break the Rules: Yerba Buena is Out Now on PC, PS5, and Xbox!

    Copy, Paste, and Break the Rules: Yerba Buena is Out Now on PC, PS5, and Xbox!

    If you’ve ever looked at a glitchy background character in an open-world game and wondered what their life is like, your next gaming obsession has arrived. Focus Entertainment and developer Mad About Pandas have officially dropped Yerba Buena, and it’s available to play right now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

    Set against a surreal, stylised backdrop of 1970s San Francisco, this isn’t your average indie puzzle-platformer. It’s a reality-bending trip that flips traditional game mechanics right on their head.

    From Nobody to Main Character

    In Yerba Buena, you step into the retro boots of Barb, a young woman who discovers she is actually just an NPC trapped inside an abandoned, unfinished video game production. When a sinister plot, a rogue biker gang, and a spreading digital glitch threaten her beloved city, Barb has to break out of her background programming and become the main character she was never meant to be.

    Master the Ultimate “Copy-and-Paste” Mechanic

    What truly sets this title apart is its mind-melting physics weapon: The Oscillator.

    Instead of just jumping over obstacles, you get to rewrite the rules of the environment using a literal “Copy and Paste” mechanic. See a trampoline? Copy its bouncing properties and paste them onto a concrete block to launch yourself to the next tier. Need to cross a massive gap? Scan a passing car, copy its horizontal movement vector, and paste it onto a literal apartment building to slide it across the street.

    The game encourages you to stack properties, experiment, and break the map to find your own solutions. It’s a bit like Portal met a funky 1970s sci-fi zine, and we are absolutely here for it.

    Play It Today

    Yerba Buena is available now for $24.99 / £19.99. If you played the recent Steam demo, you’re in luck—all of your progression carries right over to the full game.

    Whether you’re looking for a fresh brain-teaser or just want to hurl a few buildings around a retro San Francisco, grab your controller or mouse and dive in today.

    Give Us Your Thoughts!

    Are you ready to take control of Barb and hack the system? Let us know in the comments below what crazy combinations you’ve cooked up with the Oscillator!

    Source – https://www.focus-entmt.com/fr/games/yerba-buena#shop

    #YerbaBuena #IndieGames #GamingNews #PuzzlePlatformer #TechMash

  • Breaking Reality in 1970s San Francisco: Yerba Buena Gameplay Overview

    Breaking Reality in 1970s San Francisco: Yerba Buena Gameplay Overview

    If you’ve ever felt like the world around you was a bit… glitchy, you’re going to feel right at home in Yerba Buena. Developed by Mad About Pandas and published by Focus Entertainment, this upcoming puzzle-platformer is less about following the rules of physics and more about rewriting them with a heavy dose of 70s flair.

    With the game set to launch on May 26, 2026, we’re diving into exactly how this psychedelic trip plays out.

    The Premise: An NPC’s Awakening

    You play as Barb, a relatable, unassuming young woman living in an alternate-reality 1976 San Francisco. The twist? This version of the City by the Bay is actually an abandoned video game world. When a mysterious “glitch” begins to tear the fabric of her reality apart—and a dangerous biker gang starts causing havoc—Barb has to step up and transition from background character to hero.

    The Core Mechanic: The Oscillator

    The heart of Yerba Buena’s gameplay is a “technomagical” device called the Oscillator. Forget simple jumping or shooting; this tool introduces a “Copy and Paste” mechanic that is genuinely fresh for the genre.

    • Copy Traits: You can point the Oscillator at an object to capture its physical properties or movement vectors.
    • Paste Reality: You then apply those traits to something else in the environment.

    Example: See a speeding car? Copy its momentum and paste it onto a park bench to send it flying through a barricade. Or, copy the bounciness of a trampoline and apply it to a dining table to reach a high-up fire escape.

    As you progress, the Oscillator gains even weirder abilities, such as capturing the property of “vapour” to turn solid walls into intangible mist, allowing Barb to walk right through them.

    Groovy Visuals Meet Glitchy Subspaces

    The art style is a standout, leaning heavily into a stylised, graphic-novel aesthetic that captures the iconic fashion and architecture of the 1970s. However, as the “glitch” takes hold, the world shifts into surreal, psychedelic subspaces—like a pocket-dimension amusement park—where the puzzles become increasingly mind-bending.

    Gameplay Quick-Facts

    FeatureDetails
    Release DateMay 26, 2026
    PlatformsPC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S
    DeveloperMad About Pandas
    Core LoopPhysics manipulation, environmental puzzles, 3D platforming
    Demo StatusAvailable Now on Steam (approx. 90–120 mins of gameplay)

    Final Thoughts

    While the narrative leans into some bizarre, meta-commentary territory (including bosses who can literally “reload a save” when you defeat them), the sandbox potential of the Oscillator is what has us excited. It’s a “break the rules” kind of game that rewards creativity over platforming precision.

    If you want to see if you have what it takes to save the “game,” the Yerba Buena demo is live on Steam right now, and your progress will carry over to the full release next month.

    Are you ready to stop being an NPC? Let us know your thoughts on the “Copy and Paste” mechanics in the comments!

    Find out more here – https://s.team/a/2330110

    #MadAboutPandas #FocusEntertainment #YerbaBuena #SanFrancisco #NPC #Steam #Barb #games #gaming #gamers

  • Focus Entertainment Reveal Surreal 1970s Puzzle-Platformer ‘Yerba Buena’

    Focus Entertainment Reveal Surreal 1970s Puzzle-Platformer ‘Yerba Buena’

    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

    #FocusEntertainment #MadAboutPandas #puzzleplatforminggame #YerbaBuena #gameupdate #games #gaming #gamers #platformer #gameplay #demogame #videogames #arcade