Just shy of a year ago, we got the great news that a second episode of the excellent adventure game series Bertram Fiddle would finally be releasing that following November. The first episode, Bertram Fiddle: Episode 1: A Dreadly Business ($1.99) was very well-received by players but it released way back in December of 2014, so fans had been anxiously-awaiting its continuation for quite some time. Unfortunately episode 2, which is called A Bleaker Predicklement, didn’t make its November release target, and back in April we were assured it would be hitting its new May release date. That didn’t happen either, sadly, but in June we were once again given a new release date of July 20th, this time for sure! Well friends, life is tough as a struggling indie developer and things rarely go according to plan. It’s my unfortunate duty to report that Bertram Fiddle: Episode 2: A Bleaker Predicklement has been delayed yet again, and is now slated for a release at the end of August.
This sort of thing is obviously disappointing, but it’s also totally understandable in the volatile world of game development, especially for a smaller outfit like Rumpus Animation. I’d much rather they take the extra time to get the game exactly right rather than rush it out the door to meet a deadline. That said, this is like the ummmm third delay and it’s been almost 3 years since that first episode launched, so just know that I’m mildly groaning under my breath as I type this. As we wait for the end of August though, you can pick up the first episode of Bertram Fiddle and have plenty of time to play through it before A Bleaker Predicklement arrives. It’s not necessary to do so as episode 2 is being built as a totally standalone experience that doesn’t require that you’ve played episode 1, but there will definitely be some inside jokes and callbacks that will be more enjoyable if you have played it. Here’s to hoping that no more delays are in store for A Bleaker Predicklement as we move towards its new end of August launch.
