Category: Games

A Deep Dive into [REDACTED]’s Challenging End Game

Steve Papoutsis, Studio Head, Striking Distance

On behalf of the team at Striking Distance Studios, I wanted to offer up a huge thank you to everyone who pre-ordered [REDACTED]. I hope you’re enjoying the 72 hours of Early Access on Xbox.

If you haven’t pre-ordered the game yet, you’ve still got a chance to get in on the fun and check out the new gameplay trailer before our official launch on October 31. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

[REDACTED] is our take on a fast-action dungeon crawler roguelike. It’s set in Black Iron Prison, a deep space penitentiary where the shit really hits the fan after a full-blown outbreak has created a terrifying mob of bloodthirsty monsters. You’re an expendable prison guard with one mission – find the last escape pod and get the hell out of there.

This is a passion project for our team between AAA releases. We’re huge fans of roguelikes and wanted to put our stamp on the genre, with a vibrant comic-book-inspired style, and a high-energy, futuristic punk rock vibe.

We’ve already talked about a few of the innovative new gameplay features we’ve added, like “Rivals” and “Fight Your Last Corpse.” But of course, we’ve saved a few surprises for the end.

Today, we wanted to tell you about a devious ultra-hard mode called “The Watcher Run.”

“The Watcher Run” is a completely optional endgame playthrough for the hardest of the hardcore out there. It’s the only way to unlock the final pieces of the story in [REDACTED], and is the ultimate test of your skill, strategy, and sanity.

You’ll unlock dossier filers for each Rival you encounter in the game as you battle through Black Iron Prison. Each completed dossier scores you a code used to unlock a mysterious Vault in the escape pod bay at the end of the prison.

Once you secure all eight codes and reaches the vault next to the escape pod, you have the option to unlock “The Watcher Run.”

And here’s where things get interesting.

If you choose to take on this challenge, you’ll assume the role of “The Watcher.” Playing as the “The Watcher” has its perks – you’ll wield a cattle prod and the Plasma Gun, a new and powerful ranged weapon. Otherwise, it’s simple – you have to make one last run through Black Iron facing off against every boss and rival from start to finish – without dying.

Don’t worry, The Watcher isn’t just a guy with a big shiny gun and cattle prod. He has a unique ability to exit any room that doesn’t include a boss or Rival encounter before it’s cleared. This speeds the run up and reduces your exposure to combat, but it costs you the ability to unlock upgrades along the way. Which is a real high-risk scenario, because there’s a catch.

If you die, you’ll lose every upgrade you’ve purchased. So, basically, just about everything you’ve earned up to that point. Like I said, The Watcher Run isn’t for the timid and the stakes are high. But so are the rewards.

If you battle your way through the prison, clear the whole run without dying, overcome one last life-or-death battle that unlocks one of two special endings for the game (no spoilers here), you win access to the Plasma Gun and a new suit that grants 100% hazard protection and deflects enemy projectiles back at the attacker.

I can’t wait to hear about all your own unique player stories exploring Black Iron Prison (whether you take on “The Watcher Run” or not) in the days ahead as we launch the game globally on October 31. We hope you have as much fun playing the game as we did making it!

[REDACTED]

KRAFTON, Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$22.49

Pre-order

Black Iron, a state-of-the-art penitentiary located on Jupiter’s icy moon Callisto, is overrun with hordes of infected inmates. As a modest prison guard your job is simple – get to the last escape pod and get out alive. But you aren’t the only survivor looking to escape. Your rivals – a deranged custodian, a violent gangster, a maniacal lunch lady, and more – can’t wait to step over your corpse and save themselves. Only one of you can make it off the moon – make sure it’s you! FIGHT/DIE/ADAPT Each death is a learning experience. Starting fresh each run, build up your loadout with powerful experiments, weapon schematics, and buffs to battle through Black Iron. When you die (and you will die), use your hard-earned loot to purchase new permanent weapons, suits, and skills. Get stronger, experiment with your strategy, and get out! ROUT YOUR RIVALS You're not the only person to survive the initial outbreak or willing to use a bit of violence to get to the last escape pod. Some prisoners and even your correctional services colleagues are just as eager to escape and will make escaping harder by attacking you remotely or challenging you to a one-on-one duel. Race them, attack them back remotely, and fight them to the death to make it out in one piece. FIGHT YOUR LAST CORPSE When you die, you leave more than a coverall-clad carcass. Defeat the reanimated corpse of the last guard to succumb to the prison’s dangers to earn a powerful experiment. But beware, it’s not going to be an easy fight. The semi-alive guard has the same loadout they had when they met an untimely end and a few extra tricks up its sleeve to keep things spicy. “GAME OVER, MAN” You’ve made the perfect build, battled through bosses, ran through rivals, killed your corpse, found all the files, and now you’re standing in front of that last escape pod. Sure, you could leave it all behind for the sweet taste of freedom… or risk it all in one last hardcore do-or-die run back through the prison. Fail and you lose all your purchased gear, skills, suits, and weapons. But IF you succeed, you’ll unlock new powerful permanent gear. FUTURE PUNK An irreverent attitude, unique presentation, vivid graphic novel style, and a 180bpm original arcade-punk soundtrack by Mutato Muzika enhance [REDACTED]’s sci-fi setting and fast white-knuckle action.