Blast Your Eyeballs with Prison Punk Roguelike [REDACTED] 

Fans of outer space zombie prison punk look no further — [REDACTED] is the roguelike you’ve been waiting for. While the game’s true name remains a secret only its developers know, [REDACTED] is nonetheless set to bring a throaty roar of punk attitude to Halloween this year. Known for their 2022 survival horror The Callisto Protocol, Striking Distance Studios are turning their hands to a different kind of experience with [REDACTED], albeit in the same universe. Black Iron prison is the setting once again, but this time the action has a comic book aesthetic, and comes laced with gnarly punk attitude, right down to the fiery soundtrack. Intel Gaming Access got sent down for a stretch, and sidled up to studio head Steve Papoutsis in the commissary for a few choice words.

As with all that is good and pure in the world of game development, [REDACTED] began as a game its creators simply wanted to make and play themselves, and was given wings by the enthusiasm of fans.  “[REDACTED] started out as a passion project, born from the team playing around exploring concepts,” says Papoutsis. “We shared the early concepts with the community and they seemed supportive so we decided to keep working and put the game out.” There’s no better reason to make a game. 

At the heart of [REDACTED] is a fun idea spun off from the prison setting of their previous title. “The game came from a simple thought: How would the workers and inmates at a space prison deal with a zombie outbreak, when they need to race to the only escape pod they have access to?” explains Papoutsis. “With that theme in mind, we developed our Rivals concept, which leans into the other survivors who are trying to escape.” The idea behind Rivals is that you are far from the only person trying to get to the only existing escape pod. The others in the race — be they prisoners or officers — will attempt to hobble your chances with remote attacks and duels. But whatever they can do to you, you can do back.

Roguelike players are a rightfully demanding bunch given the plethora of games that vie for their attention, a fact that concentrated the minds at Striking Distance. “When we first started exploring the idea, we were focused on a few things: Firstly, the controls, to ensure the act of moving, shooting, and melee attacking were extremely fluid and fun. Second, a number of us have been enjoying the fun that the loop of roguelike games provide, the experimentation, the in-run upgrades, the meta unlocks and upgrades,” says Papoutsis. “I guess you could say the genre really connected with our passion for RPG-style systems, but in the case of this genre, players can have shorter burst sessions and always have something to keep coming back for.” 

There was also a desire within the team to flex their creative game dev muscles in new directions following The Callisto Protocol. “We liked the idea of creating an experience that was more control- and system-focused and had a unique and more irreverent tone compared to our last game,” says Papoutsis, who is also keen to acknowledge the core roguelike elements that make the genre so attractive to so many. “[REDACTED] is for players who enjoy games that challenge them, and provide lots of skills and upgrades to experiment with.”

There’s something of a dark art to balancing the core loop of a roguelike for maximum player enjoyment, a responsibility the team takes seriously. “Throughout development, we constantly play and revise the systems and concepts we’re creating,” says Papoutsis. “Rivals, for instance, had four big revisions.” The team also acknowledges that punishing permadeath roguelike loops sometimes need tempering to release their full fun potential. “We also want to ensure people don’t become frustrated, so the overall tuning of the game has been a constant focus,” continues Papoutsis. “The game should be challenging for players, but we didn’t want it to be hard to the point of frustration.”

As with any game that needs to run fast and smooth to deliver its optimal game feel, PC performance is key. “With a game like [REDACTED] where we’ve put so much attention on the controls, excellent performance is crucial,” says Papoutsis. “We want players to connect with the fluidity of the game, feel the speed of the character as they evolve over their runs, and enjoy all the chaos but still have a consistent frame rate.”

The developer support team at Intel has relished the chance to help Striking Distance get the most out of the game’s performance through the integration of XeSS 1.3, and not only on home PCs. “Intel is doing a lot of cool things to support performance so gamers get a great experience when using their hardware,” says Papoutsis. ”The development of their new tools has been really great, especially when working on handheld devices, and a game like [REDACTED] is fun to play on a handheld.”

Striking Distance has got a lot in the game this spooky season, and it’s all to play for as [REDACTED] gets ready to hit the hands of gamers. “Right now we are excited to see how players react to [REDACTED]” says Papoutsis. “We want the tone and style to connect with them, from the controls to the music to the visuals. We hope players can escape the day-to-day grind and enjoy what we developed.” Release your inner punk and get out if you can.

Pre-purchase [REDACTED] on Steam