Gamescom 2016 round-up – 1C Company
Unknown Fate
1C’s Jan Olejník revealed that one of the company’s most recent signings was Unknown Fate, from Italian developer MarsLit Games, pitching it as an “enigmatic story-driven first-person adventure.” Unfortunately it was not playable at the demo area, so instead Jan showed me the beginning of the game as an in-game video. With the exception of one environmental puzzle, most of what I observed consisted solely of 3D exploration, but Jan assured me that there will be many more puzzles throughout the course of the game. There will also be “boss fights” that all require a different strategy to overcome. I tried to find out more about this aspect of the game, but wasn’t able to do so “for the sake of spoilers.” Nevertheless, I was told that “this is an adventure game with a strong story, so action is not the main point of the game.”
The opening sequence turned out to be as surreal as it was intimidating. At first, it seemed like the unseen player was investigating a perfectly normal middle-class neighborhood. Very soon I realized, however, that parts of the scenery had vanished. At the same time, a bizarre path emerged that 1C’s PR manager told me would lead deeper into the main character’s subconscious. As one world seemed to be swallowing the other, the protagonist followed the path and I witnessed strange sights in the sky, such as a huge spider and an enormous whale passing by. During the rest of the video, we progressed deeper into the character’s psychological world. This allowed me to see several other eerie mind projections, some of them seemingly based on childhood memories. According to Jan, Unknown Fate has a philosophical background, and revealing very particular things about the character’s past will be of great importance.
Everything I saw of Unknown Fate took place at night, which further added to the element of surrealism. Every location used different lighting effects, some of them very moody, to enhance the game’s dream-like atmosphere. I’m under the impression that the blending of light and darkness might be an important aspect of the full game.
The surreal entrance to the protagonist’s subconscious fascinated me and was very well executed. I did not see enough actual gameplay to get a good idea of the overall design, but early impressions are promising and perhaps there will be a chance for a closer look before the game releases sometime next year. Unknown Fate will support Oculus Rift as well as HTC Vive, though non-VR versions will also be released on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Renoir
Renoir is described as a “story-driven 2D platformer drawing inspirations from 1940s film noir.” While the announcement trailer didn’t contain any gameplay material, it did demonstrate the game’s comic-like cutscenes and stylish black-and-white presentation. Being a fan of old American detective movies, I must say that the protagonist’s video monologue seemed quite clichéd to me. However, due to the atmospheric visuals and their interesting ways of blending light and darkness, I was eager to find out more about the project and its gameplay.
Developed by Black Wing Foundation, a company registered in Estonia, the keyboard-controlled game stars a former cop named James Renoir, who for years fought organized crime in a dark and violent metropolis. Since the mafia’s influence even extended to the police and government, it seemed like Renoir was fighting a losing battle. But things changed when a young aspiring politician teamed up with him to finally clean up the city. At the same time, James also met the love of his life, so it appeared that his life was taking a turn in the right direction… until he was murdered.
Crediting Capcom’s Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective as an influence, PR manager Jan Olejník launched a short gameplay video and explained what happens after Renoir’s violent departure. Risen from the grave, the former detective has turned into a ghost with a single-minded purpose: finding out who killed him, and getting revenge. When asked whether that might include shooting enemies, Jan told me that Renoir is treading a very different direction. According to him, and reinforced by what I saw personally, the side-scrolling game focuses on puzzle solving while the backstory unfolds. Having to avoid light at all costs, Renoir is able to take control of phantoms. These phantoms play a crucial role in the environmental puzzles that need to be solved for you to progress to the next part of the screen.
Admittedly, I didn’t have enough time for a hands-on glimpse at Renoir, so it’s hard to assess how important the narrative elements really are. Still, the game seems to feature a very promising puzzle approach, not to mention its stylish and atmospheric look. Just like the cutscenes, the actual game, built with the Unreal Engine 4, uses a very “noir-ish” monochromatic presentation. If that sounds like a good combination to you, keep an eye out for the game’s PC release in November.
And More! (In Fear I Trust, The Watchmaker)
I was only able to see trailers for two other potentially interesting games being published by 1C, but both are deserving of at least a brief mention.
In Fear I Trust is a first-person horror adventure by Black Wing Foundation, developers of Renoir, letting players unravel the truth behind a secret Soviet experiment. Offering “puzzle solving and the exploration of eerie locations”, In Fear I Trust uses comic-style cutscenes to unfold some of its story. While the game has already been released episodically for iOS and Android, a complete PC version is planned for launch on the 20th of September.
The other game in question is The Watchmaker. No relation to Trecision’s 2001 adventure by the same name, this is a hybrid containing elements of exploration, puzzle solving, and also platforming action and boss fights. Players take on the role of Alexander, who lives in a steampunk-style tower full of giant clock mechanisms. Each day Alexander’s routine involves adjusting its mechanisms to maintain and repair his precious tower, until one day someone sabotages it. With the clock not working properly, time spins out of control and Alexander starts aging abnormally quickly. With very little time to repair the damage, and armed only with “a magnetic glove and a bag of time bombs”, Alexander must collect bits of time to regenerate his youth as he presses on through the tower in order to unravel its secrets. Developed by Micropsia Games, The Watchmaker is targeting a release for PS4, Xbox One, and Windows sometime in 2017.
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