Keep several eyes out for this one
Image credit:Bonsai Collective
Image credit:Bonsai Collective
“It is a little ‘Oh, no,’ because you automatically start comparing what you’re building to someone else,” Hill tells me. “At that point, you stop working through the natural iterative processes of building a game, and you’re starting to see how somebody else is maybe doing those kinds of systems.”
Ultimately, though, the reveal of Returnal ended up being a positive thing for the Bonsai Collective team. “I mean, if that game is successful, then there’s an audience that exists then,” Hill continues. “You know that what you’re building, people want to play that type of experience.”
However, Fawkes themselves never actually does the exploring in person. Instead, they take control of biomechanical androids, and pilot them from the comforts of their cell, all under the careful watch of a giant mechanical head known as Aylin. Aylin acts as both your guide and your prison warden during these missions, speaking with you over comms to help direct your progress. During my demo, she mainly left you alone, only cropping up during key story moments when you discovered something new and weird, so she shouldn’t fall foul of beingtoo chattywhile you’re hopping and dashing.
I’m not sure I want to know who built/imprisoned/created this enormous monstrosity… |Image credit:Bonsai Collective
Image credit:Bonsai Collective
“Our bullet patterns were really nice,” Hill explains. “But we wanted to get more variety in there, and seeing the amount of variety that was in Returnal, [we knew] players are definitely going to want more of those kinds of bullet patterns. So we went back into the system we built to make it more complex, and gave more control to the designers.”
What was that about no horror, again? |Image credit:Bonsai Collective
Based on what I’ve played, I reckon their hard work has paid off, as even this first mission feels tough, but fair. It doesn’t ease you in gently, but it’s also not as daunting or hostile as Returnal, either. For me, it struck just the right balance with its difficulty, and if you enjoyed Doom Eternal andNier: Automata, you’ll likely feel right at home here.
