Creator of the beloved game Butterfly Soup is developing a queer Chinese fantasy focused on solving murders from the back of a giant crane.

If you’re part of the gaming community, especially among those who create queer-focused titles, you’ve likely heard of Butterfly Soup. This 2017 coming-of-age visual novel by Brianna Lei has been a significant influence for many developers and stands out as a remarkable story about four queer Asian-American teens navigating love and baseball. I enjoyed Butterfly Soup immensely, but it’s been a while since I last played it, so I was excited to receive news about Lei’s upcoming project, which seems even more tailored to my interests.

The new game is titled The Crane Rider’s Tale, blending visual novel and adventure elements as you unravel a murder mystery while riding a massive crane. You take on the role of Mourn-No-More, a man accompanied by a giant crane named Snowfall, who can transport passengers. Early in the story, your friend Peach Blossom is mysteriously killed, and you’ll be on a quest to solve her murder while shuttling townsfolk and engaging in conversations along the way. Time is limited each day for giving rides, so you’ll need to make strategic choices about who to pick up. The game features skill checks reminiscent of Pentiment, where failing doesn’t halt progress, and Mourn-No-More has a skill tree similar to Disco Elysium, allowing you to invest in abilities like Birdsong, Third Eye, and Whimsy, which will help you respond to situations in various ways and uncover more clues.

Visually, The Crane Rider’s Tale is stunning, incorporating backgrounds from centuries-old public domain art and character portraits inspired by Chinese woodblock prints. The soundtrack also sounds promising, with music composed by Starling Tan, who is also involved in another project I’m looking forward to: Delphinium. Tan has already shared a composition online.

I can already tell I’m going to enjoy this game, especially since the trailer and screenshots indicate that Lei’s writing remains as relatable and humorous as it was in Butterfly Soup. It appears that player choices will significantly impact the story, with five major endings available, not counting early Game Overs. However, we’ll have to wait a bit longer for this one. It’s currently wrapping up a successful fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, having surpassed its $80,000 goal, to fully fund the game, which is still in alpha. Lei expects a late 2028 release for PC, with a possible delay into early 2029 if necessary. That’s fine by me; I can wait for my Butterfly Soup/Pentiment/Disco Elysium-inspired Chinese folktale romance adventure.