Every so often, a new game comes along that forces players to take on a unique perspective; one less common, one less familiar, but nonetheless intriguing. From Stockholm-based game developer The Outsiders comes a new game called Darkborn, which you may remember as Project Wight. In Darkborn, you play as a monster seeking revenge on a gang of Vikings who attacked your clan, killing your friends and loved ones.
Both IGN and Game Informer debuted 15 minutes of gameplay. You can watch IGN’s footage in the video below. In the gameplay, the player starts out as a young, wight-like creature awakening to the sound of Vikings attacking its family. The player takes control of the youngling and attempts to escape the genocide.
Darkborn Gameplay Reveal Trailer
During the escape, a mysterious woman’s voice speaks to you telepathically, comforting you and pushing you forward with words of encouragement. She reminds you of your inner strength and of your abilities, which are progressively revealed as you move forward in the world. She informs you that your parents are close, but the pale enemy guards them.
Eventually, you find your loved ones, but unfortunately, they are dead. However, you are given several gifts of power that allow you to enact revenge on the Vikings. During today’s gameplay, the powers consisted of a combination of brutal violence and stealth.
At the end of the preview, the creature, after eating its fair share of human bodies and limbs, has grown significantly and stands several feet above the Vikings. The creature is now ready to fight a mini-boss, in this case a heavily armored Viking with a large sword. It doesn’t take long for the wight to rip his head off, though.
A Monstrous Perspective
“Darkborn is first and foremost a game about being a monster,” said The Outsiders co-founder David Goldfarb when speaking to IGN. “Playing it is about experiencing that monstrous quality – in first person combat, in novel abilities and movement, and even in enemy reactions to you.” It seems Goldfarb is looking to tell a story rarely heard.
“But it’s not traditional in that humans are murderous, cruel enemies bent on your extinction,” Goldfarb continued. “You yourself are an innocent caught up in a much larger conflict between Powers, the specifics of which become clearer in the course of the game. It’s a classic revenge story, but also a mystery: what happened to the world and your people? Can they be saved?”
Goldfarb and the rest of The Outsiders developers have been working on Darkborn for three years with a team of only 25 people. There is currently no release window for Darkborn. However, plans for a PC launch with prospects of a console release are in the making.