Fra benhårde cybernetiske lovhåndhævere til vampyrer og varulve. Det er det markante spring, som udvikleren Teyon tager i den nærmeste fremtid. Under aftenens Xbox Partner Preview blev vi nemlig introduceret for Hunter: The Reckoning - Deathwish - et action-RPG, der udspiller sig i det ikoniske World of Darkness-univers.
Selvom titlen vækker minder, understreges det, at spillet ikke har nogen forbindelse til actiontitlerne fra begyndelsen af 00'erne af samme navn. I stedet udforsker projektet, hvordan spilleren opdager en skjult verden beboet af overnaturlige væsener. Det sender dem ud på en farlig rejse, hvor de må bevise deres værd og transformere sig til jægere i en verden, hvor de fleste skabninger betragter dem som bytte.
Spillet står til at udkomme til PC, Xbox Series X/S og via Xbox Cloud i sommeren 2027. I en dedikeret Xbox Wire-artikel , struktureret som et interview med spildirektør Piotr Łatocha, uddyber teamet deres vision:
"We definitely wanted to take an approach much closer to that of the original Bloodlines. So it's the same world, based on the new 5th edition of Hunter: The Reckoning. It changed a bit because in the old [editions] they play characters who are 'imbued' with special abilities. Whereas in 5th edition, there are some more general people who need to fight a stronger enemy, so they need to group into so-called cells. In our game, you belong to one of those cells."
Łatocha tilføjer yderligere detaljer om gameplayet:
"It's a first-person game. We expanded a bit on the RoboCop: Rogue City formula, but this is a slower game with some investigation, with some romance options, companion bonding, a branching story, very different side quests, and very different approaches to solving problems. I believe it's the best way to approach a cool RPG game.
I would also say it's a semi-open world game, where you have the main quest line, and then you have a lot of different side quests that you can take on. The main quest follows a rather linear path, but of course it has some branches. You can also build the bond with the companions you have, and you can influence their personal stories, so they can end up with totally different states by the end of the game."
Det lyder som en spændende videreudvikling af den formel, Teyon cementerede med RoboCop: Rogue City, men med langt mere rollespilsdybde og frihed.
Er du klar til at gå på jagt i mørket, når Hunter: The Reckoning - Deathwish lander i 2027?