The Blackout Club - procedural suburban horror co-op from Magic Circle devs

[Infinitron]

https://www.blackoutclubgame.com

Spoiler

Well, this is the next game from Jordan Thomas' Question (Magic Circle devs):



http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...r-reveals-co-op-horror-game-the-blackout-club

The Magic Circle developer reveals co-op horror game The Blackout Club

The next game from Question is a co-op horror for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The Blackout Club, which is due out during the first quarter of 2019, follows a group of teens who discover they've all been temporarily losing consciousness and waking up in strange places with no memory of what they have done. Sounds like a regular night out in Croydon, then.

The teens band together to try to work out what's going on, and discover tunnels that lead to an underworld filled with weird music and even weirder adults.

Here's the official blurb:

To save their community and themselves, the teens will need to capture the conspiracy on camera and prove its existence to the world. Up to four players will sneak out of their homes and go on surveillance missions filled with procedurally-generated elements including variable objectives, enemy encounters, loot drops, and more.

Every night will be a different adventure as the team seeks out additional clues and explores new parts of their neighbourhood and its ominous underbelly. The club must trust no one as they get closer to finding out what happened to their missing friend - and the cause of their uncontrollable blackouts.

Surviving the dangers of night will require intelligence, improvisation, and skill. Sleepwalking adults that could be their neighbours or relatives now seek to drag them underground. Players must create and coordinate diversions and use other tactics to break the enemy's vice-like grip. The last player left standing must avoid attracting the attention of an even more dangerous entity - one that pursues its prey relentlessly - one that can't be seen with open eyes...

Player characters will be customisable with a variety of powers and equipment loadouts. Every member of the group will play a distinct role and utilise devices like drones or deployable traps to outwit their foes and gather evidence of their crimes. When the mission is complete, players will head back to the hideout, where they can level up and acquire new abilities for use on future outings.​

Question was co-founded by Jordan Thomas, the creative director of BioShock 2. Its first game, The Magic Circle came out in July 2015 and met with a positive reception.

Meh!

 

[Zombra]

I heard about this in the immersive sim thread.


Noninformative trailer

This is some kind of first person co-op game (up to 4 players, with drop-in/drop-out functionality) about sneaking around with cell phones in the middle of the night trying to unmask a cult/conspiracy. The vibe is Thiefy/Deus Exy/Looking Glassy. Tiptoe through missions, use the tools at hand, throw bottles to distract enemies, stuff like this, but with friends along to give you more interesting strategies. Objectives change randomly every night, but it seems that you're working towards a goal; collect x amount of evidence and you move on to the next part of the story.

The studio is called Question and the game's pedigree is good. Question has people who worked on Thief: Deadly Shadows, Neon Struct and BioShock 2.

From the website:

• Cooperative horror, with a twist
• Play as teenage investigators, uncovering a monstrous secret at the heart of your quiet community
• Use clever tactics to outwit your adult foes and record evidence of their mysterious conspiracy
• Richly simulated world with many ways to overcome an obstacle
• Explore a familiar, modern community, the horror next door
• Delve deeper into the mysterious tunnels beneath
• Each night a new adventure, no two just alike

I post about it today because there's going to be a beta test for everyone signed up for the newsletter. Like, this week. I guess this is limited time so go sign up here.

 

[Egosphere]

It looks like a Hello Neighbour, We Happy Few hybrid, but with co-op 'horror' so you can derp about on twitch and not feel like it's a waste of money

 

[Strange Fellow]

procedural suburban horror co-op

Marriage?

Spoiler

I'm sorry you had to read that

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

This game's been featured a few times on the PC Gamer magazine that I get. It seems pretty cool. They call it an immersive sim as well.

 

[agentorange]

buzzwords: the game

 

[Zombra]

Some tidbits from the discord:

* The first beta release has been delayed, probably two more weeks.

* Gameplay is somewhat like "multiplayer Thief":
[3:52 PM] Patches: yeah multiplayer thief (original games) isn't tooooooooo far off
[3:53 PM] Patches: but the dynamic is very different, since unlike Garrett who was a master thief, you are regular kids without those advantages

* Players gain xp by running missions, xp are spent on buying powers in four skill trees ("decks"). You can permanently buy powers from any of the decks, but may only specialize in one deck while on a mission (and you can't change horses midstream). In co-op the group can play as a mix of classes, all the same, or any combination (e.g. you can try a run with four Scouts if you want ... but remember you're stuck with it for the whole mission).

* There is almost no info on what the powers look like. The Scout has an RC drone he can gather information with. Another deck provides a team stamina buff. Those are the only examples mentioned so far.

* There is a fifth player role called the Stalker. This is a solo only mode where you're working for the bad guys. You invade another game and spy on the good guy players by streaming video of what they're up to to the bad guys. You don't get to pick what game you invade. The other players won't even know a stalker has invaded until the game is affected. To defeat a stalker, find him, catch him, take away his phone; then the enemy player is booted from the game.

* The game doesn't end, there is no "final mission", although as you go up in level you can learn more about the story. Every mission is a different "night". Start a game, pick your loadout, try to complete the objective, session ends. The map is always the same neighborhood, but elements change from night to night such as a window being open or locked, a parked car blocking an alley or not, etc.

* Antagonists are called "sleepers". They are normal adults from the neighborhood who are either brainwashed, possessed, part of a cult, we don't know yet. A major Blackout Club rule is "don't kill anyone" because it might be someone's mom under that hood, maybe yours.

 

[Zombra]

I'm playing the early beta. The atmosphere is fantastic. Gameplay has a long way to go. I'm under NDA about game specifics but can maybe answer general questions if anyone cares.

 

[Swampy_Merkin]

Fuck....I thought we were doing a real blackout clu............

 

[A horse of course]

Move this trash to the multipass forum Infinitron you useless faggot

 

[Reinhardt]

To defeat a stalker, find him, catch him, take away his phone

Gopnik simulator.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[LESS T_T]

Out now on Early Access:

 

[Infinitron]

Released: https://steamcommunity.com/games/599080/announcements/detail/2706019229002817845

Welcome to 1.0 Launch!!!!
30 JUL @ 8:17AM - RUJURO

This marks the end of the Early Access period and the transition to full launch! Thanks to all the players who joined us on the journey to get here and who helped us grow and improve the game over the past 8 months!

OLD GROWTH

The biggest addition with the release of 1.0 is the 3rd large above ground region, "Old Growth".Old Growth is home to a perfectly normal daycare facility used by many families in Redacre. It is recommended you don't poke around in the basement though, employees only.

It also includes some woods and other outdoor spaces, including a playground. The size of Old Growth is close to the size of the two existing above ground areas combined and it brings with it new connections to the maze.

FIXES AND POLISH

In addition, the release into 1.0 brings a bunch of fixes and further polish to the game. Some areas that received particular attention are issues with collision that could make trees a pain to navigate around, problems with AI pathfinding, fixes to numerous level art issues, and lots more.

RUSSIAN SUBTITLES

Do to popular demand the 1.0 build has added Russian subtitles and interface!

As we have said since entering early access, with full launch comes a price increase. The game has far more to offer than it did when we first released in October, and the price has increased to reflect that.

Thanks again to everyone who has joined the club, we look forward to welcoming many more! Have fun uncovering the many mysteries that lie above and below Redacre's streets, and don't forget to close your eyes.

-Question

 

[Infinitron]

And the launch trailer: