A Deep Dive into [REDACTED]’s Challenging End Game

On behalf of the group at Hanging Distance Studios, I needed to supply up an enormous thanks to everybody who pre-ordered [REDACTED].  I hope you’re having fun with the 72 hours of Early Entry on Xbox.

Should you haven’t pre-ordered the sport but, you’ve nonetheless obtained an opportunity to get in on the enjoyable and take a look at the brand new gameplay trailer earlier than our official launch on October 31. Go forward, I’ll wait.

[REDACTED] is our tackle a fast-action dungeon crawler roguelike. It’s set in Black Iron Jail, a deep area penitentiary the place the shit actually hits the fan after a full-blown outbreak has created a terrifying mob of bloodthirsty monsters. You’re an expendable jail guard with one mission – discover the final escape pod and get the hell out of there.

It is a ardour mission for our group between AAA releases. We’re enormous followers of roguelikes and needed to place our stamp on the style, with a vibrant comic-book-inspired type, and a high-energy, futuristic punk rock vibe.

We’ve already talked about just a few of the revolutionary new gameplay options we’ve added, like “Rivals” and “Struggle Your Final Corpse.” However after all, we’ve saved just a few surprises for the top.

As we speak, we needed to inform you a couple of devious ultra-hard mode known as “The Watcher Run.”

“The Watcher Run” is a totally optionally available endgame playthrough for the toughest of the hardcore on the market. It’s the one solution to unlock the ultimate items of the story in [REDACTED], and is the final word take a look at of your ability, technique, and sanity.

You’ll unlock file filers for every Rival you encounter within the recreation as you battle by way of Black Iron Jail. Every accomplished file scores you a code used to unlock a mysterious Vault within the escape pod bay on the finish of the jail.

When you safe all eight codes and reaches the vault subsequent to the escape pod, you’ve gotten the choice to unlock “The Watcher Run.”  

And right here’s the place issues get fascinating.

Should you select to tackle this problem, you’ll assume the function of “The Watcher.” Enjoying because the “The Watcher” has its perks – you’ll wield a cattle prod and the Plasma Gun, a brand new and highly effective ranged weapon.  In any other case, it’s easy – it’s a must to make one final run by way of Black Iron going through off towards each boss and rival from begin to end – with out dying.

Don’t fear, The Watcher isn’t only a man with a giant shiny gun and cattle prod. He has a novel skill to exit any room that doesn’t embrace a boss or Rival encounter earlier than it’s cleared.  This speeds the run up and reduces your publicity to fight, nevertheless it prices you the flexibility to unlock upgrades alongside the best way. Which is an actual high-risk state of affairs, as a result of there’s a catch.

Should you die, you’ll lose each improve you’ve bought. So, mainly, nearly all the things you’ve earned as much as that time. Like I mentioned, The Watcher Run isn’t for the timid and the stakes are excessive. However so are the rewards.

Should you battle your means by way of the jail, clear the entire run with out dying, overcome one final life-or-death battle that unlocks one in every of two particular endings for the sport (no spoilers right here), you win entry to the Plasma Gun and a brand new swimsuit that grants 100% hazard safety and deflects enemy projectiles again on the attacker.

I can’t wait to listen to about all your individual distinctive participant tales exploring Black Iron Jail (whether or not you tackle “The Watcher Run” or not) within the days forward as we launch the sport globally on October 31.  We hope you’ve gotten as a lot enjoyable taking part in the sport as we did making it!