There’s a new game on the horizon, due for release later this year, that is boasting a feature list that Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six fans will recognise from fan produced wish lists dotted around every Ghost Recon forum on the world wide web; squad based tactics, non-linear gameplay, full control of team AI, and – planning phase! Throw in a mix of experienced developers with a combined CV that includes Ghost Recon, SOCOM, SWAT, The Walking Dead and Insurgency and all of a sudden the entire tactical shooter community is sitting up and reading this weeks press release from Serellan LLC a little closer.
The game is called Epsilon, but it is unlike almost any other tactical shooter you’ve seen before as the team have curiously binned the green and brown of standard military shooters, and instead gone for comic book style graphics (more on the comic book tie is shortly…). We asked Christian Allen about this design decision;
we are sick of it of the brown and green, and wanted to do something vibrant and alive. In addition, our art team is quite interested in modern art. If you look closely at some of the screenshots, you will see examples of expressionist art pieces in the building. Those were created by Deane McGahan, who is herself a creator of fine art pieces in real life, so she brought that ability to the game as well.
That’s not the only thing we found curious about this interesting title, because the delivery of Epsilon is very unusual; although it’s arriving via Steam, a large percentage of interested gamers will be downloading Epsilon absolutely free of charge, as CEO Christian Allen has promised every single kickstarter supporter of their previous title Takedown:Red Sabre will receive Epsilon totally free. We asked Christian about this decision, as it has been very much welcomed by gamers with Takedown in their games library, the answer was typically forthright..
We would not exist as an entity without the initial campaign from TAKEDOWN supporters, so we felt it was the right thing to do.
There’s much emphasis on the story in Epsilon, with a graphic novel tie in that features heavily in-game, more on this in the press release below.
What you can’t tell from these screenshots is how well these characters move in game, it’s the extremely smooth with well presented movements that really impressed us when we had a sneak peek a few weeks ago.
For more on Epsilon visit Serellan.com and their forums!
Full press release follows….
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Serellan announces Squad Based game Epsilon, platform, release window, new contributors, Razer collaboration.
Seattle, Washington – August 21, 2015 – Serellan, LLC, a small independent video game studio staffed with industry veterans who have worked on franchises such as Ghost Recon, Halo, Shadows of Mordor, Mad Max, Killzone, SOCOM, MAG, Need for Speed, SWAT and more; announced today that their Unreal 4 powered squad based stealth action shooter will be released on Steam Early Access this fall.
We are very excited to bring Epsilon to the PC,” said Christian Allen, CEO and Creative Director at Serellan, ”Epsilon focuses on pre-planning, tactics, and gadgets over linear cinematic shoot-em up gameplay.”
Epsilon has been in development for just under a year, but the games art style has grown and evolved since the very beginning of Serellan. “The art team worked together to build a visually vibrant experience for Epsilon,” said Deane McGahan, Serellan’s Lead Artist, “I am happy that we were able to bring that style to Epsilon. We didn’t want to work on yet another green and brown shooter.”
In addition to the core gameplay team, Serellan has brought in some heavy guns from other areas.
Craig Gilmore, an artist with credits from Marvel, DC Comics, Ubisoft, The Walking Dead, Revolution, and more (http://www.craiggilmore.net/) will be providing an accompanying graphic novel for the game, which will also serve as the in game cinematics, delving into a storyline heavily inspired by themes in the ongoing crisis in Eastern Europe and the growing sense of Oligarchy in America in connection with groups like the Bilderberg’s. A unique cast of diverse team members, which in a first for a contemporary shooter, contains no Americans, will drive the story forward.
Music will be another strong focus, with Rich Douglas (http://www.richdouglas.net/) scoring an ethnically inspired soundtrack for a unique musical feel. Rich has worked on titles such as Insurgency and Shadowgate, and brings a unique flavor to the audio in the game.
Lastly, Serellan announced a partnership with Razer for their full line of professional gaming hardware, with integration such as the Chroma colors planned.
Previously, Serellan has announced that all Kickstarter backers of their last title, TAKEDOWN: Red Sabre will also be receiving Epsilon for free. Unlike past projects, Serellan is self-publishing Epsilon as a completely independent studio. The price point for Epsilon has yet to be announced, but Christian states, “It will be based on the amount of content launched with the Early Access version, and then adjusted as we work with the community to add more features, content, and gameplay based on their feedback.”
Serellan, which is a disabled veteran owned company, is working with several veteran groups to donate portions of the proceeds from the game to benefit veterans and active-duty military members.
Serellan plans to show initial demos at PAX Prime at the end of August at the Razer booth.
