graywalkers

graywalkers is a 3d rpg about the survivors of an apocalyptic event that caused parts of heaven and hell to be merged with our world. if that's a difficult concept to get your head around, here's a handy video.

so basically there are demons and bad things and you fight them with guns and swords and stuff. there is a combat demo you can download from the official site, which is well worth checking out. the characters are pretty out there in terms of style, one carries a ghetto blaster that you wouldn't imgaine being all that practical in a post-apocalyptic world but it says all you need to know about the visual style of the game. although xcom is the most cited reference point, the characters make it feel more like the recent shadowrun reboot. this isn't a bad thing and it's nice to play something new that still feels familiar. it's easy to get into the demo and understand how it all works within a few minutes. it also has an awesome metal soundtrack.

i have to say, i mostly play games for the story and though the combat demo is shiny and fun i'm more interested in the world. the idea of hell opening its gates is one that has been explored in countless games (most notably clive barker's jericho, although a more interesting take was in the point-and-click adventure game hell which took place in a world where demons were just part of society. that game had some fantastic concepts, like there was a character who was mapping out hell, and there was a demon who ran a nightclub played by dennis hopper. anyway, check it out if you're interested). this device allows the developers to include lots of supernatural bad guys like vampires, zombies etc. but what's really interesting about this story is the inclusion of heaven in the cataclysmic event, so humanity (and by extension, the player characters) are caught up in an eternal war, with the game taking place in a neutral area appropriately named purgatory. i'm interested to see how this storyline plays out in the game as it has potential for some epic narrative moments. there is also mention on the site about emergent gameplay, with the actions of the player being able to affect the story and the world, i guess a bit like mass effect. and with heaven and hell in the mix the story certainly has the potential to be as epic and existential as the one in mass effect.

based on the concept art, the demo and the details about the game on the website, graywalkers is shaping up to be something very fucking cool indeed and is definitely worth checking out. right now the developers are seeking extra funding on kickstarter to help speed up the development process. if you're interested they have some awesome rewards. you can check out their page here.