The cyberpunk games just keep a rollin’ in! As Half-Glass Gaming’s cyberpunk aficionado, it’s getting to the point where playing this genre of game will soon be my full-time job. Even though Cyberpunk 2077 failed to carry that torch, it does seem to have generated enough buzz for the genre — at least more than, say, the previous two Deus Ex games, which both were excellent cyberpunk-y games. There are tons of cyberpunk games coming out right now.
Today, we got a release trailer for the latest cyberpunk game on the horizon, ExeKiller. And I gotta say, ExeKiller looks like it has a unique hook, with a more Western-influenced setting and game world.
It also looks friggin’ gorgeous, at least based on what we saw in the trailer. Remember that part of Blade Runner 2049 where K goes searching for Harrison Ford in that world’s sand-covered version of Las Vegas? Well, that’s the sort of aesthetic you’ll see here. Of course, the comparisons end at the visual overlaps, as ExeKiller actually takes place in a fire-ravaged world of New York, set in 1998.
Visuals aside, any good game needs a compelling story, even if it’s only the threads of one. For ExeKiller the story seems less about picking sides between warring factions and more about hunting bounties and collecting S.O.U.L.S. To quote the ExeKiller Steam page:
You are an Exekiller, a futuristic bounty hunter. Your main goal is collecting S.O.U.L.S – biochip component which gathers information about its owner and also controls him. Chips are produced by one of the biggest corporations that rule the New Earth. Without S.O.U.L you simply don’t exist.
Sounds good to me.
The description goes on to state that this is very much a player-choice-driven game, and that how the story plays out will be based on the player’s choices throughout the main quest line. This, of course, has been the promise of countless games in the past, with mixed results, but I am still curious to see if Paradark Studio can pull it off.
I will admit that some of the voice acting in the trailer feels a little wonky at times, but I’m chalking that up to localization — maybe it’s even placeholder. But even if that’s what the final version of this game will sound like, the voiceovers aren’t a dealbreaker for me.
Only time will tell whether ExeKiller will hit its mark. And we don’t know when that might be, since according to the game’s Steam page, the release date will be “When it’s ready.” It could be a while still, folks. In the meantime, you can check out the reveal trailer below.
