If you loved "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter," or are on the lookout for a new first-person shooter, you're in for a treat with "Witchfire" — a new title unveiled today at The Game Awards 2017. The game appears to blend magic with firearms in a rather seamless way. Not only that, but the visuals look undeniably impressive. Adrian Chmielarz from "The Astronauts" issued the following statement to the press alongside the teaser trailer.
The new game we're working on is called Witchfire. It's a dark fantasy first person shooter… and that's all we can say at the moment. The game is still a long way from release and we are not announcing any other platforms than... Steam. The reason we're launching the teaser so early is simply to let everyone know that we're alive and kicking, and how radically different this new project of ours is compared to our previous game, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter... That change in direction isn't anything new for the core team, though. The three co-owners of The Astronauts were also the co-owners of People Can Fly, as well as the creative leads behind shooters like Painkiller and Bulletstorm... As you can see in the teaser, Witchfire uses the photogrammetry tech we previously used in The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. This tech allows us to... scan real-life objects... and use them as digital assets in our games for unparalleled visual quality.
It's very rare to see a first-person shooter that combines magic with firearms. The last title that comes into mind is Hellgate: London. Hellgate: London is an action game set 27 years into the future, where an ancient prophecy made centuries ago has come true and the gates of hell have opened. Demons have overrun the world of man and roam the lands, destroying, pillaging, and killing humans.
Hellgate: London featured great weapons and art direction but was let down by its story and bland characters. Even though the concept was novel, the developer didn't manage to capture that sense of wonder which accompanies titles which involve the arcane. Witchfire immediately draws you attention because of its character design and ominous tone.
It's great to see that The Astronauts is back for another game, though details for release are thin at the moment. It's currently unclear if Witchfire will be launching in 2018, or which platforms the game will release on, though we'll keep you posted going forward. Until then, enjoy the eye-popping trailer linked above.
Hopefully the game will make its way to Xbox One because The Vanishing of Ethan Carter was a PlayStation 4 console exclusive. The game launched on Sony's system before Microsoft's ID@Xbox program took off so hopefully The Astronauts will consider an Xbox One version this time around.
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