Developer Frictional Games has revealed that it is looking to expand the variety of its games, and in turn, is looking to cut back on horror games. The studio, speaking to 80.lv, has stated that it wants “to give greater focus on other emotional qualities.”
“While all of our games have been horror in some way, what we really try to do is to get a kind of playable immersion,” said Frictional Games creative director Thomas Grip said. “We want to give the player some sort of immersive fantasy, be that being a [World War 1] soldier trapped in a bunker or a robot stuck at the bottom of the ocean.
“Horror games naturally are where emotions are front and centre. Games really excel at this. However, we are also exploring themes outside of making things spooky.”
Frictional Games is well-known for its horror games, which includes Amnesia: The Dark Descent, SOMA, and more recently, Amnesia: The Bunker. Grip states that the studio wants to explore other emotions as well, rather than taking core ideas and using them in a horror game, like it did with, for example, the concept of consciousness in SOMA.
“For future projects, I think we will cut back a bit on the horror aspects in order to give greater focus on other emotional qualities,” said Grip. “I am confident that these games will still feel like Frictional ones. The immersion, the personal journey, and a holistic vision are what I see as defining traits of a Frictional game — not just horror as such.”
The most recent release by Frictional Games, Amnesia: The Bunker, was released back in June. In our review of the game, we found it to be the best entry in the Amnesia series since Amnesia: The Dark Descent, thanks to its use of environmental design and mechanics, and its use of darkness.
Amnesia: The Bunker is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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