Exact revenge on those who experimented on you in tense PS4 sci-fi thriller Past Cure
Our little dev studio couldn’t be happier or more excited today as our new story & action trailer for Past Cure is finally here and ready to conquer the gaming world! Yes, we are proud – so very proud – because we made it even though everybody told us we were crazy to go for such a high-quality project with only 10 people on our dev team. But we were doing more than dreaming, and we are now on the home stretch of a very long and hard track – the development of our first game ever!
Past Cure will be published worldwide in both digital and retail on PlayStation 4 by the end of the year. Even with loads and loads of passion and effort put in, most independent studios never get this far. And that’s why we’re going crazy today.
What’s it about?
Past Cure follows ex elite soldier Ian as he covertly pursues the men who once betrayed and transformed him.
For years, Ian was imprisoned at a black site and subjected to horrific human experimentation.
It left him changed, in possession of frightening abilities such as thought manipulation and telekinesis and haunted by a madness that resides in his dreams and sinks its claws deeper into waking reality with every use of his powers.
Needing answers, Ian hunts after the men in the shadows. With the help of his brother Markus and the inscrutable double agent “Sophia”, he takes on Eastern European cartels, secret lodges, and the hubris of unscrupulous science.
And he encounters an adversary seemingly not of this world.
Exciting stuff, right? Dreams, suspense, and horror all rolled into one game!
How we did it
Our dream – building a unique, top-tier game with our limited resources – was born 2 years ago.
In the beginning, nobody dared to believe in our vision… and everyone told us we were nuts. But in January 2016, the studio was founded and our first employees came aboard.
With at most ten people on hand we had to settle priorities and nail down the essentials of our game:
The right story and characters – we spent time developing complex characters so that their intense experiences capture the player’s imagination through to the very end. As such, the plot is never predictable and yet remains coherent and resonant, with a family drama creating a powerful arc of tension. Asked to sum the story up in a sentence, we’d say “Inception meets John Wick meets Fight Club”.
Strong gameplay and mechanics – games with a focus on story are sometimes lacking in the gameplay department. We made it our ambition to deliver across the board. By making use of the storyline, we tied in:
• The real world, focusing on challenging stealth missions that can spiral quickly into high pressure shooting and melee encounters
• The dream world, where twisted monsters roam, escape is not an option, and stealth becomes indispensable
• Ian’s special powers, crucial to reaching his objectives but with each use coming at a significant cost
Using the latest 3D scanning and motion capture technologies, MMA fighters helped us craft the movements and fighting styles – and through that, the mechanics – of the in-game characters.
We challenged ourselves to develop a game with high graphical fidelity at an affordable price for millions of players. So, yes, even the price will be exciting!
Past Cure is set to release towards the end of Q4 this year!
To stay up to date with our development rollercoaster ride, you can follow our story on Facebook.
Simon Gerdesmann – Producer, Phantom8 Studio
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