For longtime immersive sim fans wishing for a return to form,RetroSpacepromises to tick all the boxes: nonlinear exploration, freeform problem solving, tense resource management, and a minimal handholding approach that respects players' intelligence. The game’s mechanics and design philosophy bring to mind iconic titles likeHalf-LifeandDeus Ex, which dropped players into a mechanically deep playground and left the discovery and execution of solutions up to the player, often with many viable approaches.
Game Rant spoke withRetroSpacedesigner and writer Bálint Bánk Varga about how theindiedevelopers at The Wild Gentlemen are striving to recapture the freedom to explore and think creatively that defined the gaming greats of the ’90s and 2000s. This is done particularly so by allowing players to adopt a wide range of playstyles and uncover various solutions to the game’s challenges.
RetroSpace Doesn’t Want To Hold Players' Hands
In contrast to more straightforward genres, immersive sims tend to offer little in the way of handholding. This isn’t necessarily out of contempt for tutorials or quest markers, but rather it’s because the heart of these games is leaving things up to the player to discover and decide.RetroSpaceisinspired by games likeDeus Ex, which offered few explicit instructions because players are meant to explore, think critically, and conjure up their own eureka moment. In a hack-and-slash action game, getting lost may be a frustrating interruption, but in an immersive sim, it’s all part of the fun.
RetroSpacewas inspired by games such asThiefandThief 2,System Shock 2,Deus Ex,orHalf-Life. They all have unique elements that we love, but they also have some very important things in common. From a gameplay perspective, these games let the player be free, and allow them to experiment with their systems…This is even more true for games closer to the immersive sim style. So one of the nostalgic feelings we’re looking for is the mystique that these games represented and the fact that they didn’t hold the player by the hand, or poke their eye out with tutorial windows or quest markers. They dared to leave you alone in a place where you had to manage by yourself.
Markinga climbable surface with yellow paintmight be a useful level design technique in games with a certain action-packed pace, but a good immersive sim will show players a point of interest up high and leave them to explore the environment for one of a few ways to reach it. Multiple players might discover vastly different solutions: one player might stack some boxes, while another might take a running leap from a nearby platform.
RetroSpace Developers Kept Pacifist Runs In Mind
This freedom to approach the game’s problems also extends to the moment-to-moment gameplay approaches players can take. In fact, Varga assured Game Rant thatRetroSpaceis evenbeatable in a pacifist run, a hallmark of thorough immersive sim game design. Although there are numerous weapons and Mutamod superpowers to unlock, there are also stealthy and nonviolent approaches to each of the game’s challenges.
One of the first things we’ve laid down is that the game can be played in a completely pacifist way, without eliminating a single opponent. This will be extremely difficult, of course, but there will be mutamods and tech upgrades that will make this approach much easier. In addition, all enemy types will be able to be lured away or trapped, so the player will have a lot of creative options for dealing with opponents other than just killing them. That’s why we also try to build the levels in such a way that the observant players can always find alternative routes or, if not, make them for themselves.
RetroSpaceappears to have the sameextreme degree of replayabilityasDeus Ex,Prey, and other beloved immersive sims where players inevitably seek to push the limits of both their creativity and the game’s systems, and fans of speedrunning or challenge runs may want to keep this one on their radar.
