Green Hell's debut footage reminds me why I stay inside
I prefer Angel Island zone, myself
Upcoming survival sandbox Green Hell is a strong reminder that mother nature has no particular love for humankind, and that dense, verdant rainforests - while scenic - are not a place for the unprepared to wander. If the animals lurking in the night's long shadows don't get you, then the bugs will. Or the gangrene. Or just falling off a cliff. Within, a trailer featuring leeches, infected wounds and portentious quotes from Heart of Darkness, followed by twenty minutes of raw and bloody gameplay footage.
At a glance Green Hell looks not entirely unlike The Forest, minus the supernatural elements, clearly banking on the idea that nature is plenty scary enough by itself without adding cannibal mutants and eldritch artifacts to the mix. I'm inclined to agree. On a deeper level, this looks to go much further on the survival sim side of things, which we get a brief glimpse at in this trailer.
In the long-form gameplay walkthrough, we get to see the basic inventory systems and survival mechanics in action, including the option to examine each of your limbs individually for damage. The squeamish need not apply here, as a good chunk of this gameplay revolves around hunting for maggots to help treat an infected wound. Interestingly, the nutritional value of food is a complex thing, with each foodstuff having different levels of hydration, protein, carbohydrates and fat.
It's pretty grisly, gritty stuff, but even in this very early state there's clearly some vision and skill behind this one. Green Hell is being developed by Creepy Jar, an independent studio started by some splintered-off talent from Dying Light studio Techland. They plan on launching it via Steam early access sometime this summer, while we're all half-delirious from the humidity and heat. You can wishlist and track its release here.