The Technomancer, Spiders Studio’s follow-up to Mars: War Logs, releases next week. The new game combines the companion system of games like Mass Effect with electricity-focused melee combat and a dreary Mars setting. And not only is the Martian setting depressing, nearly everyone, human or otherwise, wants you dead.
“At every nook and cranny of the forsaken planet holds deadly, lurking threats,” the narrator says in a new developer video. “Many hybrid creatures roam the canyons of Mars. Originally bio-engineered by the first settlers from the genetic makeup of animals found on Earth, they have since gotten loose, creating a budding ecosystem.
It’s difficult to tell exactly what animals these mutants started as, however. A giant, hulking beast looks like a cross between a bear and the monsters from Tremors, while another resembles a rhinoceros-dinosaur experiment gone horribly wrong.
To defend yourself, you’ll have three basic weapon stances to choose from. The staff is considered the “signature” style of a Technomancer, and has been primarily shown in gameplay videos thus far, while the blade-and-gun offers something a bit less fancy, but just as lethal. The mace-and-shield stance might just be the best, however, letting you parry enemies’ attacks to set up vicious uppercut counter-attacks.
“However, brute force won’t be the only tool at your disposal to overcome adversity,” the narrator adds.
As with other large-scale action-RPGs, there are a number of less combat-oriented skills that can prove just as useful in The Technomancer. The video shows off classics like lock-picking and stealth, by which you shock your enemies in the face with a jolt of electricity. The “charisma” talent also looks very similar to BioWare’s games, giving you a chance to talk through situations without having to fight at all.
The Technomancer hits Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on June 28.
