Mike Bithells Volume coming today - but delayed on Vita

If you were to go back and think of Thomas Was Alone and imagine what the developer would make next, it probably wouldn't be Volume.

But here it is anyway.

Ostensibly, Volume is a based on Robin Hood. You play a character called Robin Locksley who steals a device which allows him to create simulations of crimes and broadcast them to the world. He uses this as a way to expose the issues in society or something, facing off against the villainous Guy Gisborne - voiced by none other than Andy Serkis.

It's a stealth game, with Bithell saying he based it on his experiences of playing Metal Gear's Solid's sneaky sequences. You can't kill the enemies in a level instead having to figure out ways to get around them to your goal. You'll have a lot of tools at your disposal and a sarcastic AI voiced by Danny Wallace. Who is always welcome.

The only bad news comes for PS Vita players. While Volume is available this week on PC and PS4, the Vita version has been delayed. Bithell says that it's all finished and ready to go but it needs to go through a final round of testing with PlayStation before it can go on the store. The flip side is that if you buy it on PS4, you get it for free on Vita via cross-buy. So that's still a great deal.

Bithell is one of the most interesting developers around and he made this game more or less solo, with some help from 3D artists this time around, helping to keep costs low while still creating something which looks gorgeous in its own way. Early reviews are positive, praising Bithell's design and creation of a pure gaming experience. Also, it isn't supposed to be crushingly hard, which should help to make the game accessible to most players.

Volume is on PC, Mac and PS4 on the 18th of August. Pricing starts at €16.19 on Steam.