Cryostasis
Last year, BioShock showed us how effective a horror-shooter could be, presenting us with a vivid and meticulous world, a great story, and some truly terrifying moments. Now, Russian developer Action Forms is readying a game that looks to recapture some of BioShock’s glory, Cryostasis. Like an amalgam of BioShock and The Thing, Cryostasis puts you on a ghost ship of sorts smack dab in the middle of the Arctic Circle, fighting not only crazed visions and enemies, but also the cold itself.
Cryostasis’s story pits you as a circa-1968 meteorologist who gets trapped in at the North Pole in a broken-down nuclear ice breaker known as the North Wind. You’ll have to contend with the weather while exploring the vessel, fighting off the occasional foe, and explore in order to discover what went down to cause the North Wind to get stuck and what befell its crew.
The gameplay is FPS-horror, done in the vein of BioShock, meaning that the environments are spooky and there are some moments that will send a chill down your spine. Speaking of which, the chilly weather is one of the biggest enemies that you’ll face in the game. It’s a constant struggle for your character to stay warm, so you’ll have to be on the lookout for a heat source or you’ll die.
One of the features that 1C is touting for the game is the new “Mental Echo” system. Through this ability you’re able to psychically tap into a dead NPC’s last moments and change the past slightly in order to solve puzzles or gain insight into the mystery of the North Wind. This ability is actually a pretty cool touch and helps you to figure out a great deal of puzzles throughout the game. One “interesting” moment involving Mental Echoes happens when you touch a piece of meat and experience the cows last moments in the abattoir (very disturbing).
Graphically, the game is shaping up to be quite impressive, with some truly creepy environments and eerie lighting effects. The cold also comes into play with the game’s look, as snow will fall realistically and frost will appear on the screen in cold areas. Your weapons will even freeze a bit, becoming more cumbersome to load the worse the weather gets.
If all goes to plan, Cryostasis could be a great FPS that will appeal to horror-FPS fans looking for their next chilling fix.
Post a Comment