Gibbon: Beyond the Trees

Lore & Background

The idea for the game came from Broken Rules' CEO, Felix Bohatsch, who liked gibbons. After visiting the zoo with his kids, watching the animals move, and learning more about them, he wanted to emulate the brachiation of the animals. Bohatsch made a prototype in 2018 together with co-founder Peter Vorlaufer, inspired by endless runners like Alto's Adventure and Canabalt, but it was 'too physical and simulation heavy', so they put it into the back drawer. Months later the team was asked by Apple to make something for Apple Arcade, prompting them to revisit the game and start full production. Apple also came on as producers and helped fund it. Bohatsch further explored the idea together with creative director Clemens Scott, and with the help of office-mate and animator Sascha Vernik they created an animation mockup. Meanwhile, realizing that the movement simulation was quite complex, they got help from Wolfire Games' David Rosen, who delivered his own prototype.

Doing more research on the animals, Bohatsch and Scott discovered that gibbons were very endangered and their habitat was being destroyed, so it was clear to them that they couldn't make a game of pure escapism. They decided on two core themes: swinging through the jungle, and a focus on environmental consciousness. One of the challenges for the team was portraying the world gibbons live in in a truthful and respectful manner. As they had never been to Southeast Asia before, they wanted to travel there, but due to budget and schedule constraints, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, that was hardly possible. Instead they connected with NGOs in the area such as the Thailand-based Gibbon Rehabilitation Project, which they worked with during development, learning more about the animals and the problems they face, like poaching driven by tourism. From Rainforest Rescue the team learned a lot about deforestation, worldwide, but specifically in Borneo. They also talked to Bruno Manser Fonds about indigenous people there and hired a cultural liaison expert to make sure they were portraying the people and culture of Southeast Asia respectfully. Additionally, they got in touch with Werner Boote, an Austrian documentarian, about dealing with difficult topics in entertainment products and working with NGOs.

The game was the biggest, in terms of team size and budget, that Broken Rules had worked on up until that point. Together with a very remote team, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, this added an organisational challenge to development. The team consisted of up to 14 people, about half of which were based in Vienna, with the rest being in other cities and countries. Art director Catherine Unger and main artist Kitt Byrne for instance resided in London. Canadian developer Eddy Boxerman of Hemisphere Games contributed to the physics and animation of the game. The music was composed by Andrew 'scntfc' Rohrmann and Vienna based game-audio studio Wobblersound did the sound design and audio implementation. Development took three years, and another one for porting it to consoles.

Reader's Guide

Gibbon: Beyond the Trees is significant as an ecological adventure game that combines side-scrolling platformer and endless runner mechanics with a strong environmental message. Its development process was notable for its collaboration with Southeast Asian NGOs and experts, including the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project and Rainforest Rescue, to ensure respectful and truthful portrayal of gibbons and their habitat. The game received mixed or average ratings, scoring 63 out of 100 on Metacritic, with reviewers praising its beautiful visuals and ecological message, but being divided on its controls, short length and repetitive gameplay. Some also reported performance issues on the Nintendo Switch version. Despite mixed critical reception, the game won several awards, including the Apple Design Award for 'Social Impact', the 'International Award' at Bitsummit 2022, the Digital Viking Award 2023 for 'Best Art Style', the 2022 Pedagogic Media Award in Germany, and a Webby Award for 'Social Impact' in the games category. It also earned nominations for 'Game Beyond Entertainment' at the 2023 BAFTA Games Awards, 'Mobile Game of the Year' at the 2023 D.I.C.E. Awards, and the 'Visual Design Award' at IndieCade. The game's legacy lies in its attempt to use interactive entertainment to raise awareness about real-world ecological issues, particularly gibbon endangerment and deforestation.

Did You Know?

• The game was inspired by Broken Rules CEO Felix Bohatsch watching gibbons at a zoo with his kids.
• The team consulted with the Thailand-based Gibbon Rehabilitation Project during development.
• The game won an Apple Design Award for 'Social Impact'.
• Development took three years, plus another year for porting to consoles.

Swinging Through the Canopy

The heart of the game lies in its movement system, which translates natural gibbon brachiation into a fluid, momentum-driven side-scrolling platformer with endless-runner DNA. Holding a trigger sets the primate into an automatic swinging arc that gathers speed along branches, while a second input slows the pace into a deliberate run. Downhill stretches let the gibbon slide at even greater velocity, and releasing the swing at precisely the right moment hurls the character across wide forest chasms. A mid-air backflip followed by a button press grants a burst of extra speed once the next swing begins, and an assist move lets a second gibbon fling the player forward if they meet in midair. Three modes structure the experience. Story mode strips away scores, collectibles, and timers to keep the narrative front and center. Liberation mode, an endless-runner-style challenge, tasks the player with freeing caged animals while racing through procedurally generated jungle. A daily run mode, added post-launch, invites players to cover maximum distance within a set time limit. Throughout every mode, hazards like wildfires and poachers threaten to send the gibbon back to the last checkpoint.

From a Zoo Visit to a Studio Production

The project traces back to Broken Rules CEO Felix Bohatsch, who developed a fondness for gibbons after watching them move at a zoo with his children. Together with co-founder Peter Vorlaufer, he built a prototype in 2018 inspired by titles like Alto's Adventure and Canabalt, but the result felt too simulation-heavy, and the idea was shelved. Months later, an invitation from Apple to create a title for Apple Arcade reignited the concept, and Apple stepped in as both producer and funder. Creative director Clemens Scott joined the exploration, and animator Sascha Vernik produced an early animation mockup. Because the movement simulation proved complex, David Rosen of Wolfire Games contributed his own physics prototype. The team ultimately settled on two guiding pillars: the joy of swinging through the jungle and a commitment to environmental awareness. Development stretched across three years, with an additional year dedicated to console porting, making it Broken Rules' largest project to date. A distributed team of up to fourteen people worked remotely, with members spread across Vienna, London, and other countries, a challenge compounded by the pandemic.

Rooted in Real Ecology

During research, Bohatsch and Scott learned that gibbons are very endangered and their habitats are under severe pressure, a realization that made a purely escapist game feel impossible. The team committed to portraying the world gibbons inhabit truthfully and respectfully, even though budget, schedule, and the pandemic prevented them from traveling to Southeast Asia. Instead, they forged partnerships with organizations on the ground. The Thailand-based Gibbon Rehabilitation Project helped the team understand poaching driven by tourism, while Rainforest Rescue provided insight into deforestation, particularly in Borneo. Conversations with the Bruno Manser Fonds shed light on the lives of indigenous communities in the region. The studio also hired a cultural liaison expert to ensure Southeast Asian peoples and their cultures were represented with care, and consulted Austrian documentarian Werner Boote on how to handle difficult subject matter within an entertainment product. The result is a game described as an ecological adventure, built in genuine collaboration with Southeast Asian locals and experts.

Praise, Criticism, and Industry Honors

Critics offered a mixed but generally respectful reception. On Metacritic the title sits at 63 out of 100, with reviewers consistently singling out the hand-drawn 2D art style and the game's ecological message as standout strengths. The same reviewers, however, split on the controls, the relatively short runtime, and a sense of repetitive gameplay. The Nintendo Switch build drew particular criticism for stuttering frame rates in certain areas. Despite the middling aggregate score, the game collected a remarkable string of industry honors. It took home the Apple Design Award for Social Impact, the International Award at Bitsummit 2022, the Digital Viking Award for Best Art Style in 2023, Germany's 2022 Pedagogic Media Award, and a Webby Award in the games category for Social Impact. It also earned nominations including one for Game Beyond Entertainment. The recognition pattern suggests that while the mechanics may not have universally convinced, the game's blend of beautiful presentation and genuine environmental storytelling struck a powerful chord with award juries and the broader industry.