Frictional Games, a small four-man in house crew from Sweden is developing a new survival horror game currently under the working title "Unknown". It is supposed to surpass their previous cult survival horror series Penumbra and should be their most advanced, content filled and creative game to date.
The title recently received 300.000 DKK [$53,250, €40.300] in support funding from the Nordic Game Program and is now in full production. Their First teaser trailer is already out and the game is scheduled to come out early in the second quarter of 2010. You can see more videos on their official Vimeo channel as well.
The story will take us to an eerie old castle and its environment in late 18th century where our senses will be used and abused by all the psychological tricks and devious puzzles we can expect to find in survival horrors. Frictional Games plans to go crazy with all the stuff and ideas they did not manage to put into previous Penumbra games. Their goal is to further hone the ability to cause insanity in unsuspecting players - yes, this is the real-deal horror game, not an easy-peasy scary ride at the county fair. Compared to previous games, players will enjoy a higher level of exploration and a less linear approach to the story. Avoiding the main story might be the reason why Frictional is hang up on developing a multitude of storytelling ways. One of the interesting features included with the game will be a complex level editor in which players will be able to create their own scary tales.
Time will tell how good The Unknown will finally turn out to be... but survival horror is a genre where you can never have too many titles. It is probably the last remainder of creativity in a gaming industry overpopulated with voiceless lead heroes and endless World War II stories.
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