The Technomancer is the next project from Bound By Flame devs Spiders, set on the slightly far-flung concept of a dystopian Mars. Skipping over the intervening period of first human landing, colonisation and eventual apocalypse that not only reduces it to ruin but cuts off all contact with Earth for good measure. There you’ll battle through all sorts of RPG tropes, making allies and punching giant space ants in the face.
Here’s the best RPGs ever, while we’re at it. Almost none of them are on Mars though.
The latest trailer is all about showcasing that red planet atmosphere and the various entities along the way:
According to the official description, it’s a land of shanty towns and busted up remains of cities. Like Fallout where everything was sand to begin with, the weak atmosphere seems to mean that even the sun’s rays are dangerous, meaning staying out of it will be vital. Of course, the built-up areas just mean more scumbags and mutated mars-monsters to face.
The reason you’ve headed out into that hellscape – rather than, say, getting a comparitively cushy job as a sand collector or peasant – is because the cops (corrupt, natch) are after you and there’s some great secret to discover that “will alter Mars and its inhabitants forever.” If it turns out to be a particularly powerful vacuum cleaner, nobody is going to be impressed.
Publishers Focus Home, who’ve been running an event in Paris today and tomorrow where lots more about their in-dev games will be revealed, say it’ll pop up come Summer on PC along with the latest gen of consoles. Hopefully it’s a little better than Bound By Flame.