Montreal-based illogika Studios today announced Subaeria, a procedurally generated sci-fi game currently in development for PC. Offering a new take on the roguelike genre, Subaeria will feature branching storylines and puzzle-platforming gameplay that requires players to find ways to avoid direct combat with enemies. Rather than employ guns, knives or magical bolts of death (which illogika acknowledges are pretty awesome, but nonetheless…), the only way to survive the world of Subaeria is to trip, trick and trap opponents.
Funded through a partnership with the Canadian Media Fund, the organization which helped to bring indie gems like Contrast, Papo & Yo, and Outlast to life, Subaeria is illogika’s first original IP. The game is slated for release in mid-2015.
“After many years spent making games and apps for other companies, this is our first opportunity to create an original game and it won’t be yet another clone,” said David Lamarre, CEO and co-founder at illogika. “By taking a genre we loved, roguelikes, and adding a real story that will change each time you play and gameplay that will force players to think about being smarter, not tougher, than enemies, Subaeria will be a game we can be truly proud of.”
Subaeria is set in a multilayered dystopian society that draws inspiration from literary classics such as Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Huxley’s Brave New World, London’s Martin Eden, Hobbes’s Leviathan, and Melville’s Moby-Dick, with a dash of The New Digital Age by Google’s Eric Schmidt. Illogika’s first original IP lets you explore a unique science fictional setting through multiple characters who are both the perpetrators and the victims of their world’s injustice. As you discover the world of Subaeria, you’ll peel back the layers of a society that is democratic in principle, but secretly controlled by shadowy multinationals and mysterious algorithms powering the status quo. A social and political fable for our times, the world of Subaeria will feel fresh and original, yet disturbingly familiar.
While traditional roguelike features like short game sessions, no saves, and procedurally generated labyrinths are in Subaeria, the game also shares qualities with action-adventure and RPG titles, challenging gamers with AI manipulation gameplay mechanics in a top down, 3D environment. Special robots called Cleaners help keep people in line within the bleak Orwellian society. Through careful solving of platformer puzzles and manipulation through abilities earned in each of the game’s unique sessions, players will control, trap, destroy, and even make enemies fight each other as they make way through various, increasingly tricky levels of Security. You’ll meet diverse characters from various cultural backgrounds, giving you insight into the game’s story and world. After you have met your end, these other characters take up the mantle, unlocking new abilities and plotlines during each new playthrough in the game’s deeply complex world.
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