Where is Judas? That’s the query BioShock creator Ken Levine retains getting requested. On Wednesday he took to the PlayStation Weblog to inform gamers he nonetheless doesn’t have a solution. “While we wish we could give you an exact date today, we’re not quite ready to finalize that,” he writes, although he does supply another particulars.
His new “lo-fi” dev log explains that Judas has no set villain. NPCs referred to as the “Big 3” will share secrets and techniques with you, offer you quests, and speak shit concerning the others. Relying on who you interact with and the way, one in all characters will probably be elevated into the sport’s principal antagonist, unlocking further powers with which to hamper your journey within the course of.
“In Judas, you’re going to get to know these characters intimately,” Levine writes. “We want losing one of them to feel like losing a friend. We want to play with that dynamic, and we want that choice to be super hard. The Big 3 are all going to be competing for your favor and attention. They can bribe you, save you in battle, talk shit about the other characters, and share with you their darkest secrets. But eventually, you’ve got to decide who you trust and who you don’t.”
Ghost Story Video games, the studio making Judas, additionally revealed the sport’s key artwork. It consists of the Large 3, killer robots, and ’80s iconography like floppy disks, cassette tapes, and an Atari-esque sport stick. Levine confirmed the sport lately held a closed playtest and can seemingly function over 100 talking roles by the point it’s full. He additionally teased that the important thing artwork is meant as extra than simply an homage to the work of film poster artist Drew Struzan. “Let’s just say there’s some stuff in this game that we’re not going to talk about right now, but everything here is relevant,” Levine writes.
Regardless of its already prolonged improvement cycle, with early components teased way back to 2015 and a reveal trailer at The Recreation Awards 2022, Judas appears unlikely to be launching anytime quickly. I’d peg it for a fall 2026 launch on the earliest, although spring 2027 looks as if a greater guess. “As you know, release dates have a way of slipping by, and we’d like to avoid having to change the date after we announce it,” Levine writes.
The director’s infamously difficult production style and the high turnover at his present studio in all probability haven’t helped. Can Judas reside as much as the entire procedural narrative ambition Levine is promising? Will it nonetheless handle to come back out earlier than BioShock 4? We nonetheless have far more questions than solutions.
