SummaryHope in the City launches November 11, 2026, on XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and Steam, and will be available day one with XBOX Game Pass.No traditional detective tools? No problem. Discover how Hope uses her artist’s eye, a sketchbook, and some creative imagination, to solve the mystery of her parents’ disappearance.Go behind the scenes to discover how we designed a unique investigation system and brought Hope’s sketchbook to life with more than 100 hand-drawn illustrations.What if your greatest tool for solving the mystery of your parents’ disappearance wasn’t a badge, but a sketchbook?Launching November 11 on XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and Steam, and available day one with XBOX Game Pass, Hope in the City is a narrative mystery adventure where you play as Hope Song, a 17-year-old aspiring artist living in Shenyang, Northeast China. Just as she’s preparing to leave for art school overseas, she comes home to find her apartment ransacked and her parents missing.Hope isn’t a traditional detective. She has no authority to demand answers and people around her aren’t willing to talk. When we began designing the game, we asked ourselves: how would someone like Hope investigate?The answer was her sketchbook.Giving Players Freedom to ThinkAs Hope explores Shenyang, you’ll collect clues, engage in conversations, and discover observations that she records in her notebook. You can combine any two thoughts to see what connections they make. Successful combinations form insights and breakthroughs that unlock new dialogue, locations, and leads. You can also take what you’ve learned to other characters and decide what to ask them.But this mechanic grew from something more than our love of detective games. We wanted to explore what choice means when the world around you limits your options. Hope can’t always say what she’s thinking or convince others to help. In her notebook, however, she can question anything, make unexpected connections, and consider ideas she would never say out loud.Her actions may be constrained, but her thoughts are not. That’s where we gave players the greatest freedom.Notebook breakthroughMaking Every Combination CountDuring early prototyping, I noticed something frustrating: whenever players combined unrelated observations, Hope gave the same generic response. After seeing it a few times, it became boring!So, our writers created individual responses for every combination, even when they don’t advance the investigation. Hope might make a joke, reveal a little of her personality, or stumble toward a subtle hint. We wanted you to feel encouraged to experiment rather than worry about getting things wrong.Finding the right balance still took extensive playtesting. Some connections we thought were obvious proved surprisingly difficult for players, so we repeatedly refined the notebook interface and clues. The goal was to preserve that satisfying moment when two ideas finally click, while making the “wrong” answers more enjoyable and engaging too.Gameplay screenshot showing Hope’s notebook and thoughts being combinedDrawing Hope’s WorldWe also wanted the notebook to feel like something Hope would actually draw, rather than conventional game assets.Artist Calista Antonio created more than 100 hand-drawn sketches for the game. She approached each page as a quick visual impression, capturing what Hope notices and how she feels, rather than producing polished illustrations.Given that she’s also a 3D animator, Calista’s process combined 3D tools with drawing. She used the models and assets from the game to block out perspectives and pose characters in 3D, then developed the sketches with linework and digital watercolour. While the game features a sharp angular art style, Calista interpretedThere’s also a little bit of Calista herself in Hope. She also has Chinese heritage and, like Hope, she left Asia at 17 to pursue her passion for art in Canada. Calista drew on that experience to capture the emotions of Hope’s journey. Some of Calista’s own paintings even hang on the walls of Hope’s bedroom, bringing a personal touch to the character and her world.We’re sharing original sketches and process artwork here for a closer look at how the notebook came to life.Artist Calista Antonio working on Hope’s in-game sketchesThe Mystery Is Yours to UncoverHope in the City launches November 11 on XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and will be available day one with XBOX Game Pass.Hope in the CityLofty Sky Games and NAGA Games☆☆☆☆☆★★★★★$19.99Pre-orderYour sketches may be the only clues you have. Play as 17-year-old Hope Song in this narrative mystery set in Shenyang, China. While everyone around her cracks under exam pressure, Hope escapes into her drawings, until her parents disappear. Investigate what happened, connect the clues, and uncover the truth hidden beneath the city's calm.NO NOTE. NO WARNING. You come home from school like any other day. But the house is quiet. Your parents are gone, the apartment is in shambles. No note, no warning, no answers.AN ARTIST'S EYE Hope isn't a detective. And everyone she turns to seems intent on avoiding trouble. But with an artist's eye, she notices details others overlook, and that's what makes her dangerous to whoever's hiding the truth. Drawing is no longer an escape; it's her best chance to solve her parents' mystery.Wherever Hope goes and whoever she speaks with, she finds elements that don't add up. Investigate each one and capture your observations as sketches in Hope's notebook. Every detail matters.FROM OBSERVATION TO TRUTH Combine Hope's sketches into insights, and keep adding new thoughts until they grow into breakthroughs. Piece by piece, sketch by sketch, watch the picture of what happened to your parents take shape, and grow darker than you ever imagined.A CITY FULL OF SECRETSShenyang isn't just a backdrop, it's a character of its own. Rendered in a bold, stylized art style with an edge, every street, storefront, and shadowed alley is begging to be explored. Wander past neon signs and quiet corners, and let the city's striking visuals pull you deeper into its secrets.WHO CAN YOU TRUST?On the surface, it's just home: familiar streets, quiet neighbors, ordinary life. But beneath the quiet, something is hidden. Hope can't be sure who she can trust. And she can't afford to wait for someone to help her find the truth.Hope in the City is made by the team behind the 2026 GDC Best in Play Winner Sky of Tides and the 2024 Peabody Award-nominated Eternal Spring.The post Hope in the City: Why This Detective Uses a Sketchbook Instead of a Badge appeared first on XBOX Wire.