You’ve only got to mention Joss Whedon’s Firefly and a thousand ears are suddenly paying attention. Well now I’ve got your attention: how’d you fancy an action-adventure game set in the 22nd century, inspired by Firefly and Shakespeare, about an extraction crew picking clean the corpse of a long-abandoned earth?
That’s what Verona’s all about, and it sounds gorram shiny.
In the future the earth is being gradually pulled into the sun, and as a result the rich and wealthy are running away to far-flung colony planets that provide a land safe from solar destruction. They had to leave a lot of stuff behind though, so now teams of extractors run back to the dying earth to strip it of anything of value.
“Verona follows a team of extractors—22nd century treasure hunters—who secure and transport anything desirable from our dying planet to the colonies, regardless of size,” say Prior Games, developer of Verona. “Inspired by the cult television series Firefly and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, this is a third-person action adventure that keeps on challenging you to ponder the material or emotional value of the riches you find.”
“There is no alien threat in the game and the protagonists’ role is not to save the universe,” said CEO Theodore Reiker. “It’s a tale about greed, cruelty, love, and staying human in an inhuman world.” Your interactions with your crew and how you choose to proceed will have a large impact on your experience, apparently.
The game is being produced by the same team that worked on Sine Mora, which despite being a very different game is at least a great example of a side-scrolling shooter. There’s talent and a great concept here, so hopefully results will be positive.
Thanks, PC Gamer.