VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – SWANSONG
The Nacon machine is whirring up for a slew of new projects
06 As part of the recent Nacon (formerly Bigben Interactive) digital press conference, French studio Spiders announced its latest project, Steelrising. As with many of Spiders’ offerings, its premise is a wild ride, so buckle up.
You are an automaton named Aegis, sworn to protect Queen Marie Antoinette. She commands you to seek out the one who built you in order to try to put a stop to the violent machinations of King Louis XVI. The last king of France in our timeline, in Steelrising his response to early revolutionary action is to develop a murderous mechanised army. His robots have since spun wildly out of control, overrunning this version of 18th-century Paris, and the king himself is apparently too drunk on power to call off his forces.
The studio is recreating landmarks that you can visit today, as well as structures that haven’t survived. These heavily researched environments introduce a greater level of verticality, taking you upwards and far beyond action at ground level. More action-focused than some of Spiders’ earlier efforts, in Steelrising there are seven ‘families’ of weapons and various upgrades that can make Aegis stronger, more durable, or more mobile.
It’s certainly a fresh take on the time period… especially when you consider our editor’s immediate reaction to the announcement was to describe it as “Nier: Automata meets Les Misérables.” Our staff writer’s response was to then ask, “Do you hear the androids sing? Singing the song of grinding gears?” Whatever your answer, watch this space for updates on Steelrising.
RED AND BLACK
The Nacon Connect press event also offered news about a slew of other projects. We got our first look at Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong thanks to a flashy cinematic and developer interview. From The Council developer Big Bad Wolf, this title follows three protagonists with skill specialities you determine in a similar way to how you did in the studio’s previous
EDITOR IAN SAYS IT’S NIER: AUTOMATA MEETS LES MISÉRABLES.
title. As with many World Of Darkness properties, Swansong begins in the midst of uncertainty. After the emergence of a new
Prince in Boston, a bloody shootout rips through the local Kindred community and it’s the ‘why?’ of this attack that drives the plot. You’ll have to wait until 2021 to unravel that mystery, though.
Staying in the World Of Darkness, we saw action from Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood. Cyanide’s latest rocks up looking like the best of our ’90s eco-goth nightmares. As hero Cahal, you’re bringing the fight to a very eco-unfriendly corporation. Rather than chain himself to a tree or write to his MP, Cahal prefers to take the more direct approach of infiltrating oil-pumping facilities and tearing apart their tech with his own hairy hands. Releasing 4 February on both PS4 and PS5, we bet there’ll be more fan art of Cahal’s beefy werewolf form than you can shake a stick at long before release day.
CHANGING TRACKS
Nacon also announced a number of titles for its reliable garage of racing games. RaceWard Studio, which joined the Nacon fold in 2019, has been working on the motorcycle-focused RiMS Racing. Developed by a team of motorcycle enthusiasts, the title is going for a realistic simulation approach. Featuring top-of-the-line bikes, you’ll be able to tinker with each two-wheeler’s insides and outsides thanks to a wealth of customisation options. You can hit the asphalt next summer.
From two wheels to four, another entry in the Test Drive Unlimited series tore into the lead. With the Bondian subtitle of Solar Crown, the focus of this title is the fantasy of driving luxury cars and looking good while doing it. Taking its name from the competition in the last game, Solar Crown will be far more open, offering lots of ways to progress.
More new IPs were announced alongside everything above. Check those out in Infopatches, right.
Which of the Nacon lineup has piqued your interest? Tweet us @OPM_UK.