Blue Box promises that Abandoned will focus on realism, not just the visuals. When Jason becomes breathless from sprinting, it becomes more difficult to shoot accurately. And firing weapons will be “realistically slow,” using DualShock technology to add a realistic feel to being hit by a gun trigger or being hit by a bullet. It also uses 3D audio, which it says helps players know accurately when and where to fire their gun.
Abandoned is slated for the end of this year and Blue Box says it’s already running at 60fps and 4K resolution. A full gameplay video is expected soon.
Blue Box has made a few tries in the past to chase realism. In 2015 it had a title on Steam Greenlight called Rewind: Voices of the Past about a young woman who could see and interact with dead people even though it never left Greenlight. It’s also the studio behind The Haunting: Blood Water Curse, which is now in early access on Steam – although the game has since been acquired by another studio, Createq Interactive.
Abandoned joins a number of other upcoming titles slated for the PS5 selection of exclusive offers for 2021, including Returnal later this month, Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart in June, Horizon Forbidden West and Destruction AllStars coming out now, which we liked in small bursts. but otherwise shallow.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine