I watched Gamescom's Opening Night Live yesterday. The reaction is mixed, but I saw a few games that interested me personally:
Under the Waves by Parallel Studio, a narrative-driven adventure game "about the engulfing power of grief. Set in the depths of the North Sea in a techno-futuristic 1970s, professional diver Stan is struggling to overcome a life-changing loss and embrace a new future. The isolation of the deep sea is a fitting manifestation of his state of mind, and as Stan retreads further into his self-imposed solitude, he starts to experience strange events far beneath the waves. He will eventually have to make a difficult choice... stay lost in the depths forever, or break free to the surface and to the rest of his life. A love letter to the oceans, Under The Waves invites you to dive into a gorgeous underwater world, brought to life in a poetic blend of cinematic visuals and poignant storytelling."
Blacktail by THE PARASIGHT, a one-of-a-kind blend of intense archery combat and dark storytelling set in a vibrant fairy tale world. "You play as Yaga, a 16-year-old girl accused of witchcraft and expelled from a medieval Slavic settlement. When living memories of your past return as foul, walking spirits, you are left with no other option than to hunt them down in hopes of unravelling your own mystery."
Where Winds Meet by Everstone Games, an open-world RPG that is set throughout the Northern Song Dynasty in China. The game is set during the Ten Kingdoms period of medieval China, at the end of the Southern Tang Dynasty. You will be able to pick a side in the war, but you will also apparently be able to pursue professions like doctor, merchant, or just aimless wanderer. There will be plenty of fighting though, with the ability to mix and match sword fighting, Wuxia-style martial arts, Tai chi, and magic. Both in its action and gameplay, Where Winds Meet seems to draw parallels with the likes of Assassin’s Creed and Ghost of Tsushima. There are beautiful sweeping environments of all kinds to explore, along with horseback riding, climbing, wall-running, and what looks like a potentially colossal boss battle.
The Expanse by new Telltale, an adventure game. "In the near future on the outskirts of the asteroid belt, a bloody mutiny breaks loose on the Artemis. You take the role of XO Camina Drummer, where your choices determine the fate of the ship. What will you do with the truth, Bosmang?" It is set before the television series and follows Camina Drummer and her crew aboard the Artemis, a scavenger ship in the
Belt. In The Expanse, players will have to work with mag boots to "walk on walls and ceilings and utilize Zero-G thrusters to float through the void". Along with this gravity defying setting, players will also be given a "greater authority over the action" that goes beyond what has been experienced in past Telltale games.
Scars Above by Mad Head Games, a sci-fi shooter. You'll play the role of Dr Kate Ward – The Sentient Contact Assessment and Response team (SCAR) member—who wakes up dazed, alone in a strange, hostile environment. Determined to survive, you set out to find your crew and unravel the mystery behind what’s happened. "Kate is an astronaut and a scientist—not a soldier—but she’s resourceful and determined to do anything to survive. Use a combination of ranged weapons, devices, consumables and melee attacks, you need to manage stamina as you run, dodge, exploit weak points and discover effective tactics to defeat your foes. Combine different elemental attacks to beat the odds and break through otherwise impassable obstacles. Craft different items and gadgets to aid you against the countless threats in this exoplanet."
Wyrdsong by Something Wicked Games is "planned as a dark, historical fantasy that takes place in a fictionalized version of Portugal in the Middle Ages. Though we don't yet know any details about the story, players will take on the role of a fully customizable protagonist and will engage with the world through RPG mechanics including combat and questing".
Jeff Gardiner leans on the ‘unreliable narrator’ with Wyrdsong
www.polygon.com
"The lore part, that’s very interesting, because I’m actually trying to avoid lore for the most part,” said Gardiner, whose closed his 16-year tenure with Bethesda Game Studios
one year ago as of Friday. “So I’m setting it somewhat historical. […] I want to explore this idea of the player being an unreliable narrator, and there’s no better setting than this, sort of semi-mythological, [Knights] Templar sort of backdrop.”
Ex-Bethesda producer Jeff Gardiner describes Wyrdsong as a “preternatural, occult, historical fantasy” open world RPG. It is, he says, a “coming together of two great RPG houses” in its Bethesda and Obsidian DNA - we spoke to him about his very new project.
www.ign.com
"Wyrdsong is a “preternatural, occult, historical fantasy” game, and it’s going to be an open world RPG. It’s definitely single-player, no comment for now on multiplayer, and players can be “any race or gender” they want. It’s set in Portugal in the middle ages, and will explore themes around questioning the nature of reality, unreliable narrators, and the stories people tell themselves about their experiences. It is, he says, a “coming together of two great RPG houses” in its Bethesda and Obsidian DNA, and thus will include choices and consequences, Obsidian shades of grey, and in-depth dialogue trees. “We really want to have big, monumental elements you can only do in single-player games where you’re really affecting the world around you, and maybe other worlds as well,” Gardiner says.
But if between this description and the Opening Night Live teaser you still aren’t sure what Wyrdsong really
is, don’t worry. Gardiner isn’t 100% sure either, but that’s a good thing - it’s still quite early in development. Gardiner says that this very, very early development announcement is really more of a studio announcement for Something Wicked, but he wanted to “put a stake in the ground” in terms of the type of game he was making so he could attracted developers interested in helping him define more fully what Wyrdsong will be, collaboratively. He’s not interested in being an auteur."
What are your impressions of the Opening Night Live? What games have interested you?
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