Developed by a team with backgrounds in the Battlefield and Star Wars: Battlefront franchises, Arc Raiders is shaping up to be a promising addition to the multiplayer shooter landscape. This title distinguishes itself through its blend of team deathmatches and cooperative gameplay, featuring colossal robots that roam the game’s expansive maps.
Embark Studios, founded by veterans of the FPS genre, draws inspiration from a range of sources, with a notable absence of traditional firearms in their design ethos. One of their significant influences is Shadow of the Colossus from Team Ico, which set a high standard for innovation in gaming.
Patrick Söderlund, CEO of Embark, shared insights on the creative process in an interview with Edge Magazine: “When you’re inside a [large] studio, working with these established brands, there’s just so much risk aversion. That mindset was shared between quite a few people inside DICE, having worked on many, many Battlefield titles. There just comes a time when you’ve done enough of those. We were all curious to see: what could we do, unconstrained?”
Inspiration Behind Arc Raiders
During the inception of their new project, Söderlund and his co-founders realized they had never taken the time to discuss their favorite games due to years spent focusing on gun mechanics in first-person shooters. Reflecting on Shadow of the Colossus, hailed universally for its unique approach, became a natural reference point.
“There was something unique about large-scale enemies,” Söderlund noted. “We said, ‘If we’re going to do robots, we want it to feel as innovative as Shadow of the Colossus did when it came out,’ so we began investing in machine learning and reinforcement learning.”
The creature-based action-adventure game, crafted by Fumito Ueda, has set a precedent for large-scale encounters and strategic gameplay since its release in 2005. This clear influence can be seen in the imposing mechanical beings within Arc Raiders.
Innovative Gameplay Mechanics
Originating from a franchise known for its destructible environments, Arc Raiders takes advantage of this cinematic potential, merging various concepts to create a fresh experience. However, one can only hope it won’t evoke the emotional intensity felt by players facing Wander’s fate at the conclusion of Team Ico’s masterpiece.
As more information rolls out, the anticipation for Arc Raiders continues to grow, especially as it currently ranks as the fifth most-wishlisted game on Steam. Given its initial delays due to creative reassessments, it seems the team is committed to ensuring that the final product delivers both fun and innovation.
Stay tuned for updates as the team at Embark Studios furthers its development journey.