Until Dawn developer, Supermassive Games, is gearing up to bring us a new video game. For now, those in the know hail the game as an “exciting unannounced secret project.”
Fans of Supermassive Games understand the team is well-versed in crafting narratively powerful games. Not only that, but each title I’ve played so far comes off as cinematically impressive. They’re one of the companies that serve up ‘movies’ you play through, ordinarily horror-based. Until Dawn is a beautiful example of their strategy, weaving in player-made choices to ultimately change the story we are partaking in. So, while we know ‘secret project’ means we have few concrete details, are there any hints about the game?
What we know about Supermassive Games next project
The only piece of information that we have on the new game comes from an Opattack article. According to Opattack, the studio is hiring a combat designer to “create varied and compelling real-time combat.” They are also looking for a lead-level designer and a UI programmer, among other positions.
The most uncomplicated notion to adopt is that Supermassive Games will develop a video game that departs from their cinematically charged, narrative games. That does not necessarily have to be the case, and I’m hoping it’s not. The team already has a handle on how to tell stories, and their puzzles require us to engage our minds a little. One thing that would make a Supermassive Games title even more immersive is to take everything they have learned and inject it with real-time combat.
On their next outing, I expect Supermassive Games to bring in more Hollywood talent. Until Dawn featured actors such as Hayden Panettiere (HEROES), Brett Dalton (Agents of SHIELD), and Rami Malik (Mr. Robot). Supermassive Games used their likeness and voices for their performances, which brought another level of quality to the game. I’m not sure if the developers reach out to up-and-coming stars, but the famous faces they landed put in some incredible work.
Narrative games should find time for real action
These narrative games often lean on players correctly pressing buttons during a quick-time event (QTE). Press the wrong button, and you may take a hit. Later, the wrong button or combination of controls may wind up killing one of your characters for good. It works for the storytelling nature of cinematic games, but gamers frown on QTEs outside of these IPs. Adding authentic player-controlled action to a quality title like Until Dawn would be nothing short of fantastic!
If you’re unfamiliar with Supermassive Games, absolutely try out Until Dawn. It’s their highest quality story-driven horror game. Because you never know which action/choice will be the end of one character, it keeps you on your toes. Another project they are working on is a horror anthology called “Dark Pictures.” I have yet to play it, but I intend to jump into the first entry of eight called “Man of Medan.” SG released the second part of the anthology, called Little Hope, in October 2020. A third entry, called House of Ashes, arrives sometime this year.
