Who are you fighting? Often the alien wildlife. Konami’s cult classic Viewtiful Joe is one influence arcade brawler Street Fighter is another. The designer describes encounters in the game as a “dance of death”, the camera pulling in tight to give players a closeup view of each “urgent, weighty” clash. It’s up to them to decide what sort of player they want to be.”įor those who lean towards fast-paced action, Ultros’s duels should pack the required punch. “We talked a lot about the choice that the player makes: combat v gardening. This isn’t a “dad game” in the vein of The Last of Us or God of War: “It’s on more of a philosophical plane,” Brüggemann says. “I had a lot of thoughts around parenthood, nurturing, and taking responsibility for something other than yourself,” he says.

This consciousness-expanding vibe wasn’t born from a night on ’shrooms but something a little more wholesome: the birth of his first child. Brüggemann describes a symbiosis between the hallucinatory visuals and themes of the game: in Ultros, it may be hard to distinguish between the real and imaginary. The psychedelic artwork is by renowned artist El Huervo (who also created illustrations for the Hotline Miami series), drawing inspiration from Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, Swedish illustrator Per Åhlin, and the plant illustrations of 19th century biologist and artist, Ernst Haeckel.

This sci-fi world looks like an acid-dipped gig poster from the 1960s.

Dead space: downfall online