THQ Nordic has decided to go big this time around. In the second edition of its Digital Showcase, conceived along the lines of the events that were once part of the magical ‘E3 period’ in which all the greatest exponents of the industry battled each other with extraordinary announcements, unexpected surprises and exciting gameplay videos , the European publisher has unveiled to its fans a very solid, varied and enriched lineup with some … unexpected return.
Among the remakes of Destroy All Humans! 2 and that of the first, unforgettable Gothic, the gameplay trailers dedicated to the new wrestling simulator AEW: Fight Forever and the reveal of the new videogame projects dedicated to the beloved IPs of Spongebob and South Park, THQ Nordic has also raised the curtain on four novelties absolute, four completely new announcements that demonstrate how much this publisher intends to invest in titles of a more heterogeneous nature, all animated by rather intriguing ideas and entrusted to talented development teams.
Alone in the Dark
The first announcement, perhaps the most important of the titles in development under the aegis of THQ Nordic, was the one on which the rumors had focused most insistently in recent days, an ambitious as well as fascinating project, long coveted as potentially. dangerous: a reinterpretation of the first, legendary Alone in the Dark, the putative father of the entire genre of Survival Horror in 3D (a name often mistakenly attributed to the iconic Resident Evil saga but which saw its first in Alone in the Dark incarnation in chronological terms).
This new reboot, by the Swedish studio Pieces Interactive, relatively young but already known for having worked on the expansions of Titan Quest, has the specific objective of reinterpreting the first three chapters of the original saga according to a taste closer to the modern canons of horror. digital without giving up the atmospheres and gameplay dynamics that had characterized the classic trilogy.
We find the private detective Edward Carnby, historical protagonist of the series, recalled to investigate a mysterious suicide in the gloomy Villa Derceto by the young Emily Hartwood, who also appeared as a playable character in the first episode of the saga and as a supporting character in the third chapter.
Abandoned the typical fixed camera system that was then also borrowed from Capcom’s horror series, Alone in the Dark returns in the form of Survival Horror in third person with a view placed behind the two playable protagonists (a bit like it happened in the fourth, fifth and sixth chapter of Resident Evil and in the remakes, so to speak, ed) and promises to bring with it a mix of combat, horror, puzzles and exploration, all supported by a plot personally curated by Mikael Hedberg, known for his work on two cult of the genre such as Amnesia and SOMA by Frictional Games.
In short, the cards in order to make us forget the last, terrible missteps made by the Alone in the Dark saga are all there and, net of a technical sector that betrays the nature of ‘pre-alpha’ in which the game is located right now, Pieces Interactive appears to be intent on doing things right to bring the father of Survival Horror back to the place of honor he deserves.
Space for Sale
The second unpublished announcement of the event held by THQ Nordic was Space for Sale, the new work of Mirage Game Studios, former creators of Little Big Workshop, the delicious strategic / management that appeared on Steam in 2019 and which has been able to collect unanimous support from critics and audiences. In an effort to repeat that success, this small Swedish team unveiled their Space for Sale, a bizarre mix of space exploration and … real estate entrepreneurship (?) To the public.
Yes, because in Space for Sale we will play the role of an astronaut who has landed on an alien planet to start a real estate development program in which wealthy clients can invest to get the home of their dreams in the depths of space. Our task? That of sifting the surface of the various planets at our disposal, gathering resources to build buildings and colonize but, above all, that of satisfying the increasingly pressing demands of customers who wish to give up everything and move thousands of light years from their home planet.
Between alien creatures to fight, exotic environments to explore and mysteries to solve, Space for Sale promises to be a fresh, fun and original experience. The release is scheduled exclusively on PC during the next year and can be faced in single player mode or even in co-op with another player.
Wreckreation
Imagine an arcade car racing game with frenzied rhythms and a high rate of spectacle. Imagine, now, transplanting this concept into an open world that spans four different nations with hugely diverse biomes and hundreds of miles of roads stretching as far as the eye can see. Finally, imagine being able to change the conformation of the terrain in real time, add jumps, ramps and loops while the other players battle to reach the finish line first. This is the concept of Wreckreation, the new crazy racing game by Three Fields Entertainment, a fairly young studio made up of former developers working in Electronic Arts and Criterion.
Based on sharing the online experience with other pilots from all over the world, Wreckreation has a feeling that closely resembles that of the first Burnouts or Trackmania and was built on the basis of two very specific gameplay mechanics: GameDJ and LiveMix. The first allows you to change the weather conditions, the climate and the parameters of the races at will in order to create always new and enjoyable races. The second, which we had already anticipated a little above, offers players the possibility of directly influencing the game world by building the tracks in real time while the other players are at the doors to win the trophy.
This is an absolutely interesting and potentially hilarious concept that, if supported by a precise and adrenaline-pumping driving model, could result in a must-have for arcade racing enthusiasts. Wreckreation is currently in the ‘pre-alpha’ phase and will be released on PC and consoles over the next year.
Tempest Rising
The new project by Slipgate Ironworks and 3D Realm, former authors of Rise of the Triad and collaborators in the development of titles such as Graven, Ghostrunner and Paradise Lost, closes this roundup of unpublished announcements. Tempest Rising – this is the name of the new work – was immediately described as a love letter to the classics of the RTS genre of the 90s, a type of games indeed rather mistreated and left in oblivion over the last few years.
Tempest Rising imagines a conflict between two large armies competing for a very important resource known as Tempest, which emerged in the aftermath of a violent nuclear war and which could guarantee almost unlimited energy to anyone who comes into possession of it.
The title will offer two distinct single-player campaigns but also a large competitive multiplayer mode. The base building finally returns to the protagonist and it will be necessary to learn how to better manage your own limited resources to obtain hegemony on the battlefield and resist the continuous assaults of the opposing faction.
Each unit, as usual, will be characterized by various strengths, weaknesses and uniqueness but, before being able to deploy them on the battlefield, it will be of vital importance to build buildings, barracks, refineries and power plants that can support the war effort of our army and accumulate more and more precious Tempest.
Ultimately, Tempest Rising is taking shape as a true throwback to the golden age of RTS, and could grab the attention of a large audience of enthusiasts when it arrives on PC in the course of 2023.
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