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The evolution of video-game cyberpunk: 'Ruiner' and 'Tacoma'
What does it even mean, cyberpunk?" It's a strange question coming from Magdalena Tomkowicz, the narrative designer of Ruiner, a top-down action game that takes place in an anime-inspired cyberpunk world. It just landed on Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this week from Polish studio Reikon Games, but fans of gritty sci-fi shooters have been looking forward to this one for months. The thing is, Tomkowicz and Creative Director Benedykt Szneider never intended to create a cyberpunk game. They're simply products of the 1980s, pulling inspiration from their favorite childhood stories -- Alien, Die Hard, Ghost in the Shell -- to create something of their own. Tomkowicz is also a former journalist who covered emerging technology and consumer trends, and her professional curiosity informed Ruiner's aesthetic far more than any desire to re-create the world of, say, Blade Runner. Besides, the traditional Blade Runner version of cyberpunk -- dense, dark city streets coated in smog and grime, eerily illuminated by walls of neon -- is out of touch with today's reality, according to Szneider and Tomkowicz. This aesthetic made sense in the '80s, but sci-fi is all about extrapolating from current technological and social trends, not clinging to 35-year-old ideas about the future. Blade Runner completely missed the advent of cellphones, after all. "It's like it's actually a retro-futuristic genre and something that is locked in its bubble," Tomkowicz says.
'Ruiner' is not just a cyberpunk 'Hotline Miami'
Ruiner might be one of the most eye-catching titles showcased at Gamescom -- something that's hard to achieve when every company is bombarding you with posters, flags and bags at every turn. The aggressive, manga-style protagonist and angry catch copy are difficult to ignore. It's also the first title to come out of Reikon studio, an indie Polish team founded by veteran gamemakers that had previously worked on The Witcher, Shadow Warrior and many more. (I really liked Shadow Warrior, okay?) Cofounder Magdalena Tomkowicz explains how she had grown tired of big gaming projects and wanted to recover the passion of making a game: This top-down shooter / slasher is the result of that. The Hotline Miami comparisons might be fair at the simplest level, but Ruiner seems to take that top-down gameplay mechanic in a very different direction. Oh, and a bunch of angry techno soundtracks alongside sharp character and environment design help drive things along, even if it can be a little overwhelming at times. Shoot, slash, dash and let the blood splatter.
Cyberpunk shooter 'Ruiner' hits PC and consoles September 26th
When we played Ruiner during the Xbox showcase at GDC back in February, we compared it to a 3D, highly polished version of Hotline Miami. The cyberpunk-themed, top-down action game sets you up to kill the boss while taking out enemies who swarm in from doorways and narrow hallways. Ruiner is now ready to launch on September 26th on PC, Xbox and PlayStation. The team has also released a teaser trailer to whet your appetite and show off the rapid-fire gameplay and dystopian setting.
There were so many games at GDC's ID@Xbox showcase
Microsoft's ID@Xbox showcase is a staple of GDC, packing a ton of independent video games into a single room and letting players go wild. This year, ID@Xbox featured 20 games across a range of genres, from shoot-em-ups and RPGs to first-person cyberpunk horror. It's impossible to play every game, so we picked four at random: Full Metal Furies, Observer, Moonlighter and Ruiner. And we had a blast.
