Broken Age's fuzzy, pixelated Retro Mode discovered
Hidden in the menu at 640x480...
Broken Age contains a secret Retro Mode that suggests what the game may have looked like had it been developed in the mid 80s.
Instructions for how to access the clandestine option have been detailed by YouTuber The Phawx, though it's quite simple. First, you set the resolution down as far as it will go to 640x480. Then hit "key remapping" and all of a sudden a little icon of lead characters Vella and Shay will appear in the menu's lower right corner and you can assign a key to this picture. Using the newly mapped mystery key in play will toggle graphics between modern, spectacular Broken Age art and what Broken Age would look like with glaucoma.
Interestingly, once you map the key you're able to change the resolution back up and the Retro Mode button will still be in effect. Why does the option to initially access such a mode only show up at 640x480? Was this to make it especially hidden or was it simply a bug in this early build? I've reached out to Double Fine and will update when I get the studio's take on this strangest of secrets. [Editor's Note: Double Fine has since confirmed to us that it was an intentional easter egg. It's hard to find on purpose.]
