This year marks ten years since Xbox launched its [email protected] Whether that was the reason they invited the press to a digital event I’m still unsure, but what we got to see was an in-depth look at four new and very promising titles from four European developers. All games were presented with a trailer, a demo with comments from the developer and finally the opportunity to ask relevant questions. Here’s what we got to see.
The Last Case of Benedict Fox
The first game on the menu would also prove to be the one that made the absolute best impression. The Last Case of Benedict Fox is Polish developer Plot Twist’s first game, but the developer’s 30-strong team includes veterans who have worked on titles like The Witcher, Dying Light and Hitman, so it’s definitely not an untested bunch.
The first time we were introduced to this title was during last summer’s Xbox presentation, but since then it’s been pretty quiet. Maybe that’s also why I was so pleasantly surprised. The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a Lovecraft-inspired Metroidvania adventure with equal parts combat, platforming and puzzle solving. You play as self-proclaimed detective Benedict Fox who investigates a case related to his late father. Benedict has abilities that set him apart from most detectives I’ve encountered in games, movies, and books. First, he has connections to a Darkness-like demon that, among other things, allows him to double jump and turn his skin to stone. Also, he can access people’s memories via a place called Limbo, which seems to make up the bulk of the game. The rest takes place in his father’s castle, where Benedict can get tattoos to upgrade the demon’s abilities as well as talk to various characters – a hub world of sorts, in other words.
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It was difficult to get a good idea of how extensive the world is in a short time, but we saw plenty of puzzles with rituals as well as some complicated symbol interpretations that will become more logical in the finished adventure. The puzzles in the Metroidvania genre are usually navigation-based, but judging by the demo, many of the challenges here are rather Resident Evil inspired, with a lot of exotic items that have to be used in the right places.
The battles look surprisingly complex with different abilities like the aforementioned stone skin, a parry system and melee attacks that charge your firearm. We got to see Benedict fight demons and noted a mysterious organization that is after him because of a demon. I’m a little worried that the fighting might not be enough in the end, but it’s hard to say for sure at this point.
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Creative director Bartek Lesiakowski was asked after the demo what he was most proud of, and unsurprisingly it was the visual style, but also the atmosphere, the story, and how dark themes are handled in a unique way. He also mentioned that sources of inspiration besides HP Lovecraft include film noir, 1920s jazz and Greek tragedies. The variety of inspirations is really noticeable, and from what we saw, I can only agree that the things Bartek is most proud of very much seem to be draw-cords. The Last Case of Benedict Fox looks like a sprightly, original and hugely attractive jazz monster from another dimension, and I can’t wait to get my hands on this when it premieres later this spring.
Planet of Lana
Perhaps it was the explosive presentation of Benedict Fox that made an impact, but Planet of Lana did not make as good an impression as I had hoped. It was the one of the four titles I was most looking forward to, but the atmospheric and stunningly beautiful cinematic platformer probably isn’t a game that really lends itself to a screening of this kind. And since the game doesn’t have a ton of gameplay mechanics to speak of, and Swedish developer Wishfully and creative director Adam Stjärnljus are keeping their cards pretty close to their chest when it comes to the story, there wasn’t much to talk about.
However, that doesn’t mean Planet of Lana looks any less amazing, considering everything that’s been shown from the game so far. It looks like a Playdead adventure if Studio Ghibli was responsible for the artistic direction and Fumito Ueda was involved as a consultant. And it is praise that is good enough. You play as Lana, who embarks on an epic journey to save her sister and the rest of her people from the invading force threatening the planet Novo. Along the way, she meets Mooi, a cat-like creature with a talent for jumping high and communicating with Novo’s fauna – and an acute fear of water, something Lana fortunately does not share. In other words, the two abilities complement each other, and in the demo, which took place in a fantastically fancy swamp, we saw Lana giving orders to Mooi to solve navigation-based puzzles. None of this was particularly complicated though, but hopefully that will change further into the game. That said, I liked how quickly and accurately Mooi responded to every order, because there’s nothing more annoying than a companion character with a failing AI.
While the puzzles were a bit too obvious as I said, the game’s graphics can’t be faulted, and the background music is also incredibly beautiful, which is perhaps not so surprising considering that it’s The Last Guardian’s composer. While that said, this demo format isn’t ideal for a game like Planet of Lana, it’s still one of my most anticipated spring titles, and thankfully it’s not long until it arrives. Look out for this!
Lightyear Frontier
An alien planet is also the setup for another Swedish studio, namely Frame Break’s upcoming Lightyear Frontier. A nice farm simulator with a mech concept that also wants to deliver a story with an enticing mystery.
Unlike the other titles we saw, it still seems a long way from the premiere for the 14 people at Frame Break, but the vision is already clear. It’s about manually gathering resources rather than automation, and the ability to play both solo and with up to three friends. Additionally, the team is experimenting with letting the player leave their mech and explore on foot.
Everything looks incredibly colorful and inviting, as does the music that sounds like Outer Wilds, but CEO Joakim Hedström didn’t want to answer when we get the chance to play the finished product.
Everspace 2
This series goes from one alien planet in the original to a whole bunch of them in the sequel. Everspace 2 has scrapped its predecessor’s roguelite structure in favor of a classic campaign with lots of survival options. The predecessor’s structure was largely a result of limited budget, but the game’s success has allowed Rockfish Games to “the game we always wanted to make”as founder Michael Schade puts it.
Everspace 2 looks like a fast arcade homage to the dogfight genre. Schade himself describes it as a looter shooter in a semi-open world. You travel seamlessly from place to place via portals and visit different solar systems. There are more than 100 handcrafted locations, and Rockfish promises a 30-hour campaign and four hours of dialogue. The variation seems to be great; I got to see battles in space and hang out near the surface of a lava planet as well as under the sea surface of a water planet. Even better, these environments were also visually very nice, and getting to explore is something that adds flavor.
The game will be released in April after a long period in Early Access/Game Preview. Incidentally, Schade was very pleased with the Early Access/Game Preview feedback, even going so far as to say that he wouldn’t make a game again without first releasing versions this way.
