Fallen Tree Games’ open world sandbox title American Fugitive, which takes place from a top-down perspective, is now available. It’s out for PC and PS4, with the Nintendo Switch version coming on May 23rd. The Xbox One release will follow on May 24th. Check out the launch trailer to see the game in action.

The premise is simple – you’re Will Riley, framed for a crime and out to avenger your dead father. Breaking out of jail is the first step. After that, you have to locate the actual killer. There are different missions to undertake with 10 to 14 hours of gameplay time in the story. Whether you should trust any of the people you meet is something you’ll have to discover for yourself.

American Fugitive’s sandbox does channel old-school Grand Theft Auto in some ways. Players can steal cars, rob houses and stores, flee from cops, and much more. The game retails for $19.99, but you can avail of a 20 percent discount until May 28th. Check out our interview with the development team for more information.

If you’re yearning for old-school top down open world crime thrillers in vein of the older Grand Theft Auto titles (or the not-so-old Chinatown Wars), Fallen Tree Games’ upcoming America Fugitive might be just the thing for you. The indie studio has dropped a trailer of the game to give you an overview of what to expect.

It touts destructible environments, a “massive” open world, and plenty of chaos. The 3D top down visuals are looking pretty sharp as well, while the trailer also gives a brief introduction of some of the main characters we’ll be seeing in the story, from convicts and thieves to failed business owners and corrupt policemen. Take a look below.

American Fugitive is out on May 21st for the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. For more information on the game, check out our recent interview with art director Lewis Boadle through here.

"American Fugitive came from a conversation about what it would really like to be ‘on the lam’. We didn’t consciously plan for a GTA vibe, but it undoubtedly has influenced us as we’ve loved GTA throughout its entire history – both 2D and 3D."

Based on what we’ve seen of it so far, American Fugitive seems to be giving off a very classic, old-school GTA vibe- was that much of an influence on you?

American Fugitive came from a conversation about what it would really like to be ‘on the lam’. We didn’t consciously plan for a GTA vibe, but it undoubtedly has influenced us as we’ve loved GTA throughout its entire history – both 2D and 3D.

There are some unique features we’re really excited about; Players can break into any building (although this can go badly wrong if they make too much noise or the place is occupied). The ‘Wanted’ system is based on your appearance, so it’s down to the player to find ways to throw the cops off the scent, whether it’s raiding someone’s washing line, or ditching a hot car for
something less noticeable.

How much freedom to explore or because chaos does the world of American Fugitive offer?

We tried to give the player as much leeway as possible to ‘play it their way’. Redrock County is divided into three regions, separated by rivers and police roadblocks. Making progress through the story will unlock these areas, and you have complete freedom to explore – and cause carnage in – the unlocked regions.

It’s a sandbox game, so we’ve tried to create systems that encourage ‘emergent’ gameplay. For example, we introduce the player to a Car Crusher, which you can use to crush anything that the magnet will latch onto. We’ve found that players love grabbing hold of passing police cars and turning them into a metal cube – driver and all!

Why did you choose to go with a top down camera for this game?

Aside from the influence of retro games, we felt that an overhead camera gives the player a wider overview of the vicinity, and helps them make better decisions, whether they are trying to be stealthy or gung-ho. Also, it’s a practical decision. We can’t compete with the level of detail that AAA games add to their world, so a more distant viewpoint was ideal for our small team.

What kinds of criminal activities can we engage in during sandbox open world play? Are things like house or bank robberies on the cards?

You can rob houses, stores, vehicles, people. All sorts of vandalism, destruction and violence are available from the outset  but there will be an appropriate police response to your actions, so my advice is to choose your moments! The big-ticket crimes, such as bank robberies are generally limited to the story, to prevent the economy being unbalanced.

"The core experience is about 8 – 10 hours long. Like other open-world experiences, doing the other activities (collectibles, jumps, stashes, time trials etc) give the game a decent amount of longevity."

Are there any co-op or multiplayer options in American Fugitive, or is this a purely single player experience?

We’re focused on creating the single player experience, but it would be a great update, no doubt!

About how long can we expect the campaign to be?

The core experience is about 8 – 10 hours long. Like other open-world experiences, doing the other activities (collectibles, jumps, stashes, time trials etc) give the game a decent amount of longevity.

The Nintendo Switch seems to have become the go-to platform for both, indie developers and those who love to play indie games. As an indie developer yourself, what are your thoughts on the system? Do you think it presents any unique advantages to a particular style of games?

We’re thrilled to be bringing the game to the Switch. Its portability makes it such an exciting platform to develop for. It’s a little less powerful than the standard consoles, so we had to come up with some clever ways of getting the same experience on to the Switch, but we’re happy that we’ve managed to achieve that. I think it lends itself well to those quick pick-up-and-play sessions like this, where you can do a quick mission on the bus, or while the other half is watching ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’.

Will the game will feature Xbox One X specific enhancements? What can players expect if they are playing the game on Xbox One X? Is 4K/60fps on the cards?

We are in the process of optimisation right now, so it’s too early to confirm exactly what resolution and framerate it will achieve, but there will be specific enhancements.

And how will the PS4 Pro version turn out in terms of resolution and frame rate?

Likewise, we’ll know this for sure closer to release.

From a development perspective, how do you find the Xbox One X to be and how do you compare it with the PS4 Pro?

They’re both sweet systems to develop for and play on. The X is slightly more powerful but from a development perspective, they’re both very fast pieces of kit.

"This is the platform we’ve been doing the majority of our performance testing on, as any improvements for Switch tend to make the others even faster."

How is the game running on the original Xbox One and PS4, frame rate and resolution wise?

The game plays well on these systems. We’re locked at 1080/30fps to ensure a silky-smooth gameplay experience.

And the frame rate and resolution while the game is running in docked and undocked modes on Switch?

This is the platform we’ve been doing the majority of our performance testing on, as any improvements for Switch tend to make the others even faster. It currently runs at the native resolution for each, although optimisation is still ongoing, so that might change.

Next gen is coming sooner or later. From a development perspective, what is your biggest expectation from PS5 and Xbox Scarlett?

Expectation seems to be for more things based in the cloud. I’d like to see more raw power, which generally gives developers more opportunities to create the experiences they want.

What is your take on Sony’s reluctant policy on cross play with Xbox?

I think their reasons are probably business-driven more than technology-driven, but if the demand from the community is strong, I’m sure they’ll eventually soften. Fortnite has certainly helped!

Do you think cross platform will be one of the defining features of next-gen consoles?

I don’t see how the option to play with your friends – no matter what console they own – could ever be a bad thing. Whatever technical challenges stand in the way, I think we are getting to the point where they need to be overcome.

"I don’t see how the option to play with your friends – no matter what console they own – could ever be a bad thing. Whatever technical challenges stand in the way, I think we are getting to the point where they need to be overcome."

What is your take on the ongoing drama of loot boxes and microtransactions?

It’s not an area that we are not very fond of, and as developers we’ve tried to avoid it wherever possible (there are no microtransactions in American Fugitive), but I think it’s also important to recognise that we are in an age where some – not all – consumers of media entertainment are attracted to (so-called) ‘free’ experiences, so developers need to find deferred income streams. We’ve seen the effects of this in the mobile market (AKA the race to the bottom), and we hope that the console market will continue to value paid games over free ones.

In spite of having enabled cross-platform play functionality for a few games on the PS4, Sony has staunchly remained reluctant to do so on a larger scale, even in the face of constantly increasing demand from developers and audiences alike. The fact that Microsoft and Nintendo have declared their systems completely open to cross-play, with the benefits of the functionality also becoming more commonly acknowledged, means that Sony, now, remains an outlier- but a massive one.

Recently, we interviewed Lewis Boadle of Fallen Tree Games, an indie studio that’s currently hard at work on top down open world crime game American Fugitive, in vein of classic Grand Theft Auto titles, on which Boadle serves as art director. When asked about Sony’s policy on cross-play functionality, Boadle said that their steps have been business-driven more than technology-driven (which seems to be a common consensus)- but he remains sure that eventually Sony’s stance will soften.

“I think their reasons are probably business-driven more than technology-driven, but if the demand from the community is strong, I’m sure they’ll eventually soften,” Boadle said. “Fortnite has certainly helped!”

“I don’t see how the option to play with your friends – no matter what console they own – could ever be a bad thing,” he added. “Whatever technical challenges stand in the way, I think we are getting to
the point where they need to be overcome.”

In fairness, Sony has publicly talked about being more open to the idea of cross-play (and not too long ago, in fact), which is more than can be said for their stance on it in the past. Sure, they need to put those words into practice, but at least we’re taking baby steps as an industry. We can only hopes those steps turn into strides not long from now, for a feature that is clearly wanted by so many people.

Fallen Tree Games’ American Fugitive is out later this year for the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Our full interview with Boadle, meanwhile, will be going live soon, so stay tuned for that as well.