Coven of the Chicken Foot is the debut game from Naughty Dog alum Bruce Straley’s indie studio

Chicken foot assembly already has a lot to do, in my opinion. It stars a hero rarely seen in video games, an elderly woman, and features stunning storybook-style illustrations in a lush, fantasy setting. It is a single-player puzzle platform game, it relies on a silent narrative and the woman, a witch named Gertie, travels with a creepy and cute companion. Plus, Gertie has chicken feet. I love his little chicken feet.

Chicken foot assembly is the first game from Wildflower Interactive, the independent studio founded by Naughty Dog veteran Bruce Straley. The game is coming to Steam and it’s now available to wishlist, although there’s no firm release date. The first trailer for Chicken foot assembly premiered at The Game Awards 2025, showing Gertie and her friend traveling together through caves, forests and temples.

Gertie seeks to prove herself to the local clan by standing up to the country’s proud, self-proclaimed heroes. She doesn’t have a sword or a dodgeroll, and instead must figure out how to work with her strange friend to survive. Her companion develops unique behaviors based on individual play styles, which shape the way Gertie moves.

Straley left Naughty Dog in 2017 after nearly 20 years with the studio, where he directed The last of us And Uncharted 4. He announced Wildflower Interactive in July 2022 with a brief message on YouTube, saying: “In 2017, I left the industry not knowing if I wanted to make games anymore. But the longer I was away, I kept thinking about this medium, and how much there was left to do, and how much I still wanted to do. And that idea kept following me. So I grabbed some friends and we started prototyping.”

That naturally led to the creation of a studio, Straley said.

“We have to do it the right way,” he said in the video. “It should be inclusive, fair, and collaborative, filled with big-hearted people who want to grow both professionally and personally. The culture should be as iterative as the way we make games.”

Today, Wildflower Interactive has 16 employees from AAA and smaller-scale backgrounds, according to its website. Its mission statement reads:

“We’re making ‘small’, creatively-charged, uniquely styled games that explore the possibilities of our medium. And we’re building a small team of open-hearted creators who want to improve their skills while living a great life outside of work. People who want to perfect their craft, have a say in the process, feel respected for their contributions, and be a part of the evolution of this awesome medium.”

I’m not going to say that the studio’s direct and repeated emphasis on work-life balance, diversity, and compassion is a response to the soulless capitalist routine built into the AAA development complex, but I’m not going to say it. not say that either.