Square Enix Collective Is Bringing 5 Games To Rezzed
Collective collected
The Square Enix Collective [official site] is an initiative whereby indie developers can submit game ideas for users to vote on and then the winners get Square Enix's feedback and help with marketing the game and, if desired, launching it through a crowdfunding service. Now they're bringing five of the project's games to Rezzed next month, including three that were previously unannounced.
Here's what the announcement has to say about the five games:
Goetia / Sushee (France): announced in October 2015, releasing in Q2 2016
Abigail’s parents and sister are missing, and the air is filled with anxiety and anger. Who is living here now? What happened to everyone? Why has Abigail come back from the dead? And what is this Goetia that seems to be the key to understanding all this nonsense? Goetia is a deep, point-and-click adventure for PC set in the seemingly abandoned Blackwood Manor and surrounding area in the early 1940s – can you unpick the mystery and find the answers?
The Turing Test / Bulkhead Interactive (UK): announced in March 2016, releasing in August 2016
You play the role of Ava Turing, an engineer for the International Space Agency (ISA), as she attempts to uncover the truth behind the research base on Jupiter’s moon, Europa, in this first-person puzzle game built with Unreal 4. Solve puzzles using your Energy Manipulation Tool (EMT) to transfer power out of one object and into another; power up and take control of artificially intelligent machines, manipulate giant structures and solve complex tasks - all woven into a multi-layered story based on the human struggle for control.
Tokyo Dark / Cherrymochi (Japan): previously unannounced, releasing in Q4, 2016
Detective Itō's partner is missing, but what starts as a straightforward case soon spirals into a twisted nightmare that causes Itō to confront her past and question her own sanity. Tokyo Dark is a side-scrolling point-and-click mystery adventure game for PC and Mac. As Detective Itō you'll explore Tokyo - following leads, collecting clues, and making difficult decisions with far-reaching consequences. Tokyo Dark features a huge number of dialogue choices and interactions that affect character attributes and change the outcome of the story.
Black The Fall / Sand Sailor Studio (Romania): previously unannounced, releasing in Q3 2016
Discover a forgotten industrial world where strict and rules and harsh punishments tore the fabric of humanity itself. What will you do to survive? Black The Fall is a side-scrolling action adventure for PC and digital consoles set in a dark and oppressive land, inspired by the Sand Sailor team’s upbringing in Communist Romania. Solve puzzles to progress, all the while attempting to avoid suspicion and alerting the intent... and unfriendly... gaze of the State.
Oh My Godheads / Titutech (Spain): previously unannounced, releasing in Q1, 2017
Oh My Godheads is the world's first capture-the-head action game on PC for 1-4 players. Capture-the-head is like capture-the-flag, but the flag is an ancient head that's alive, angry, and after you! Fight with friends to capture these furious, living heads and bring them back to your team's plinth...if you can.
Heck knows what the games are like, but this is the first opportunity to see the fruits of Square Enix's assistance of someone else's labour. I always thought the Collective was a slightly odd idea, though I suppose it is neat that developers are also able to apply to make use of dormant Square Enix IP, in case someone out there has long dreamed of staking their life savings on creating a new sequel to Gex.
EGX Rezzed runs from April 7th to 9th and has a 100+ games on the show floor, including Total War: Warhammer, Dark Souls 3, five games for the HTC Vive, and more. We'll be there this year with our own set of developer sessions, a room with our picks of some of the most interesting games of the show, and an evening mixer in case you like booze.