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UPDATE: Precursor has confirmed to IGN that Shadow of the Eternals is indeed being developed for PC and Wii U, and that the game will be released as a series of twelve episodes. Denis Dyack will also be involved in the project. The studio hopes to raise $1.5 million to cover the cost of development; any additional funds will be used toward future episodes and other bonuses, such as additional characters and platforms.
Additionally, Precursor has announced the first story details for Shadow of the Eternals:
When Detective Paul Becker is called to one of the bloodiest gang massacres in Louisiana state history, only two survivors remain from a brutal conflict between two rival cults. As Becker begins his interrogations of the suspects, their combined recollections will uncover the truth about the ‘Eternals’.
Featuring an ensemble cast of heroes and villains, Shadow of the Eternals will span over 2500 years of history throughout Egypt, England, Hungary, and the United States. Players will question the perception of reality as they try to balance the mechanics of combat, magick, and sanity events to progress through the adventure.
Shadow of the Eternals will take players on a memorable journey throughout time; weaving historical fact with disturbing fiction to create an experience unlike any other.
Precursor will announce further story and gameplay details for Shadow of the Eternals this Monday, May 6, when its crowdfunding campaign is scheduled to begin. Has any of this new information changed your opinion of the title?
Original Story: Fans of the cult GameCube classic Eternal Darkness have been waiting patiently for news on a sequel to the game, led on by years of copyright renewals and Denis Dyack’s cryptic teases. While it may not be a direct followup, a new development studio called Precursor Games, founded by some of the creators of the original Eternal Darkness, have announced its own spiritual successor to the psychological horror game dubbed Shadow of the Eternals, which will begin crowdfunding on May 6.
Precursor has yet to announce which platforms it intends to develop Shadow of the Eternals for, but it has released a brief teaser trailer for the game, highlighting many of its characters and environments, which, as you’d expect, look eerily similar to those in Eternal Darkness, complete with dilapidated temple ruins and a mysterious, ancient tome (and is even overlaid with music and sound effects from the original game). You can see the trailer for yourself below.
It’s certainly interesting to think what will come of this game, especially considering that Nintendo owns the patent for the sanity system that made the original Eternal Darkness so innovative (not to mention the rights to the IP itself). It already seems like Precursor is skirting dangerously close to infringement with some of its environments, but you can color me interested nonetheless!
What do you think of Shadow of the Eternals? Will you be donating to its development when the crowdfunding campaign begins? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Source: IGN
Would love to see a sequel – especially if it ever landed on a portable platform like 3DS.
As I understand it, “the makers of Eternal Darkness” aren’t exactly all together anymore. And if this was anything but Nintendo-published, as the article mentions, there could be legal hurdles as well.
…That said, I would very much love to dive into that world again, even if it’s not exactly the sequel that would have been imagined by the original team, and even if it has to avoid certain names/iconography/techniques for whatever reason.
When the crowd-funding thing starts, if I can essentially pre-order this as a Wii U game, I’m in. I’m not exactly confident that this will turn out as I hope/dream it might, but it’s a gamble worth taking.
ED is a 1 hit wonder. Dennis Dyack makes crap and is a fraud. This game, if it even gets funded, will likely crash and burn. If it even comes out it will probably be awful. Don’t waste your money.
Assuming any legal issues are avoided, since it’s hard to be a sequel without infringing property rights, I’d rather have this in new hands that understand the game than the old hands who haven’t exactly impressed since, well, Eternal Darkness. One thing I read suggested one of the rewards included designing your own sanity effects; I’ll be brainstorming today.
Ugh… I was more excited before hearing that this is a project led by Denis Dyack that is relying on crowd funding to get made. Given the quality of the last few projects he headed up, and reports about how money was handled at Silicon Knights before they folded, I’m really not keen on handing Dyack my money before a product even exists.
Here’s my issue with crowd-funding video games: I want to know the platform ahead of time. I’m not giving you $100 only to find out you plan on putting it out for the PS4 or Xbox720 or whatever.
Like many here, I’m also skeptical about this project, considering the deep doo doo Silicon Knights got into, and how Nintendo owns the patent for the best part of ED. I really feel like we are going to hit a point of saturation with these Kickstarter campaigns. So, so many have cropped up in such little time.
I’m cautiously optimistic about this project myself. I am concerned that Nintendo’s lack of involvement might have an effect on its overall quality (and everyone has already brought up Dyack’s rather…spotty track record), but at the same time, I’d love to play another Eternal Darkness game, even if it isn’t an exact sequel. I’ll probably pledge $20 or so once the crowdfunding campaign begins.
When everyone mentions Dyack’s “spotty history,” are we just talking about the quality of his games post-Eternal Darkness, or something else?
Now that we know it’s a Wii U title, I might be willing to throw some cash at this Kickstarter. Not a ton, but a little bit. Eternal Darkness was one of my favorite GameCube games ever. I beat it three times so I could get the best ending.
This article might give you an idea of why I’m not confident in giving Dyack money in exchange for vague promises of what will come later:
http://kotaku.com/5955223/what-went-wrong-with-silicon-knights-x+men-destiny
That’s without getting into a discussion of how the studio hasn’t produced anything worth playing without a high level of oversight from Nintendo, or about the Unreal Engine lawsuit debacle.
Get your popcorn ready:
Dyack just released a video to speak out about claims made in the Kotaku article linked above. Apparently, Dyack’s name being attached to the project (even just as head of the creative department) is causing a lot of people to approach with caution.
In response, S.Tolito from Kotaku posted a new article claiming that the original was carefully weighed and researched before being posted – they stand by the claims made, while clearly acknowledging it’s only one side of the story since nobody who could refute the claims wanted to participate.
I truly hope the game gets made and lives up to its potential. However, I’m content to wait and see instead of paying in advance for a product of unknown quality.
It won’t get made then. There are way too many of you who are not willing to gamble even $5 on the massive potential this project has.
If you truly want it to get made, this is it. It’s kickstarter or bust. If enough people can quit being cynical and making excuses just long enough to pitch in a tiny amount, this could really happen. We could finally get a follow-up to Eternal Darkness, and it could even be everything we’ve hoped for.
But none of that can happen if everybody sits back and waits.
Thanks, but I only gamble when the odds are in my favor.
How much I want something to happen has no relation to the ability of others to provide what I want. KickStarting a project from an (at the most generous account) unproven team for a platform that I don’t currently own doesn’t seem like a winning proposition.
Obviously it’s your call. It’s just depressing to me to see all these people claim they “really want this to happen” but won’t actually do anything to make it so.
Your reasons might be legit, but there’s an awful lot of cynicism and apathy going around, a lot of excuses.
I still don’t see how the odds are against you. “Unproven” my ass; these are the creators of Eternal Darkness. Worst case scenario, you pitch in, it succeeds, you play the pilot and are underwhelmed. I promise it won’t be the worst $5 you ever spent. :^)
But, if you don’t plan to have a Wii U or a PC by a year and a half from now, then I guess my arguments are all moot.