Precursor Games has officially kicked off their self-run crowdfunding campaign for the upcoming Eternal Darkness spiritual successor, Shadow of the Eternals.
In total, Dennis Dyack and Precursor Games is asking for $1.5 million dollars to pay for the cost of the game engine (Crytek’s CryEngine), and development on the Pilot Episode of Shadow of the Eternals for the Wii U and PC. This is a fairly big chunk of change, considering it only covers the very first episode of the game, but Precursor promises that “future episodes… will be significantly less to produce.”
The studio has also detailed a bit of Shadow of the Eternals‘ plot, which seems to be very much inline with the GameCube classic Eternal Darkness. The game’s description reads:
“When Detective Paul Becker is called to one of the bloodiest gang massacres in Louisiana state history, only two survivors remain from a brutal conflict between two rival cults. As Becker begins his interrogations of the suspects, their combined recollections will uncover the truth about the ‘Eternals’.”
“Featuring an ensemble cast of heroes and villains, Shadow of the Eternals will span over 2500 years of history throughout Egypt, England, Hungary, and the United States. Players will question the perception of reality as they try to balance the mechanics of combat, magick, and sanity events to progress through the adventure.”
“Shadow of the Eternals will take players on a memorable journey throughout time; weaving historical fact with disturbing fiction to create an experience unlike any other.”
To help sell the idea for Shadow of the Eternals, Precursor Games has revealed the outline of game’s pilot episode, A Dream Within A Dream. This first episode is said to open with Paul Becker arriving at Pleasant View Hospital to interrogate the two survivors of the massacre. Soon after the game transitions back in time to Hungary 1610 AD at Čachtice Castle — home to the noblewoman (and notorious serial killer) Erzébet Bathory, who is infamous for torturing and killing as many as 400 young women in her obsessive quest to retain her youth. Players take on the role of Clara, Bathory’s handmaiden/lover, who has been blackmailed by the authorities into gathering information about a missing nobleman’s daughter.
The Shadow of the Eternals crowdfunding pitch and some screenshots from the pilot episode are embedded below. Additionally, you can check out IGN’s exclusive 9 minute long walkthough of the pilot episode to get a feel for how the title will play. As we pointed out when the game was announced last week, the walkthough footage bares far more than a passing resemblance to Anthony’s France 814 A.D. level in Eternal Darkness.
The jury is still out on whether this extremely similar level structure is good news, or a sign that there are no new ideas in Shadow of the Eternals. Let us know your thoughts on the subject in the comments below.
