The Chinese Room’s Little Orpheus Wins Prestigious Apple Design Award

The Chinese Room’s Apple Arcade platformer Little Orpheus, has been crowned as one of two winners in the ‘Delight and Fun’ category in this year’s Apple Design Awards – recognising “excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design”.

Specifically, the ‘Delight and Fun’ award recognises the most memorable, engaging, and satisfying experiences hosted on Apple platforms.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the whole team for their hard work bringing Little Orpheus to life. The game was a very different kind of game for The Chinese Room and represented a lot of firsts.” Said Ed Daly, The Chinese Room’s Studio Director.

“It pushed us creatively on all fronts and we were delighted with how the game turned out. We’d like to thank Apple for the award, and all our players for joining us on Ivan’s journey.”

Little Orpheus is a technicolor narrative platformer inspired by a bygone era of adventure, in which players take on the role of Ivan Ivanovic, a Russian cosmonaut recollecting his incredible journey through the centre of the Earth.

The game launched in June 2020, with the team introducing ‘The Lost Recordings’ collectible items in October and a brand-new episode - ‘A Rush of Onion to the Head’ - this past January.

“With Little Orpheus, The Chinese Room created an adventure like no other, and I’m delighted to see the team recognised once more for their tremendous work.” said Gary Dunn, Sumo Digital’s Managing Director. 

“I’m delighted, but not surprised. The wealth of creativity on display in Little Orpheus reflects a truly creative studio with so much still to offer the video game world. I can’t wait to see what The Chinese Room has in store for us all next.”

Little Orpheus was named Best Platformer at the Pocket Gamer Awards 2021 and received nominations from the Golden Joystick Awards, D.I.C.E Awards and TIGA Awards.

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