Yesterday at its conference, Apple announced the Apple Arcade subscription, as well as many games that will be available on the service. Among them was Beyond a Steel Sky, the sequel to the 1994 cult cyberpunk adventure game Beneath a Steel Sky from the British Revolution Software, also known for the Broken Sword series.
Beyond a Steel Sky is being developed by the same Revolution. The authors describe the sequel as "a thrilling tale of devotion and redemption set in a macabre and frightening world run by artificial intelligence." Events will take place in a "limited sandbox" that changes depending on the player's actions. The user will be able to "largely" influence the world and its inhabitants. Each character has their own motivation, and their "smart answers" will suggest "interesting ways to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles." The creators call the sequel "the culmination of a thirty-year history of game development" and note that it will help the genre take a step forward. They also promise to keep their trademark humor.
“Even after all these years, [Beneath a Steel Sky] fans remain as dedicated and passionate and want to see a sequel,” said Revolution founder, Beneath a Steel Sky lead designer and Broken Sword creator Charles Cecil. “Adventure games appeal to a large and diverse audience that loves the combination of story and puzzles. Our goal is to create a clever, witty, yet intuitive game that will appeal even to those who know nothing about the original and this universe. We would like to have a modern version of 1984 in an adventure game format.”
The famous 69-year-old comic artist Dave Gibbons, one of the authors of Beneath a Steel Sky, is working on the visual component. In 1987, he received two Jack Kirby Awards for the comic book Watchmen, which he co-created with screenwriter Alan Moore. The development uses the "most modern" graphics technology. Promised support for 4K resolution and HDR.
“Charles and I have had many discussions over the years about returning to Beneath a Steel Sky,” Gibbons said. Fake news, social control, polarized views, her world is confusing. We felt that now is the right time for the return of Robert Foster, [the game's protagonist]. I can't wait to work with Revolution again."
Beneath a Steel Sky was very well received by the press. It was named one of the greatest adventure games ever by CU Amiga magazine, and in 2005 it won the Golden Joystick Awards for best title in the genre. By 2009, its sales reached 300-400 thousand copies - Eurogamer journalist Simon Parkin called this result "excellent". In the same year, she got a remaster for iOS. The original version is available for free on GOG.
One of the oldest studios still releasing games (Founded in 1989, Revolution) went largely silent after the release of the second episode of Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse in 2014. After that, the Kickstarter-funded quest was released in full for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and appeared on the Nintendo Switch last September.
Beyond a Steel Sky will be released in 2019 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Apple devices.
Source: 3dnews.ru