Deep Down: PS4 Exclusive , Free Souls

Considering its Name and the  that is the internet, typing Capcom’s working title in the making into any search engine, is at first a worrying prospect. Thankfully, and surprisingly, no resulting vulgarity surfaces but other dark, intriguing things do.

An RPG/dungeon crawler with a futuristic twist, Deep Down will be an exclusive for the PS4, and one that seems to have a few layers lurking under its Souls esque first impressions. Set in both the distant past and 2094, the game will switch between the two, with the former in a range of monster laden dungeons and the latter in New York. With a strong sense of an Assassin’s Creed influence, the New York setting appears to contain a first-person, Animus style apartment hub, where players will be able to delve into the past by touching artefacts found within.

Of course being able to go into a different era by simply touching things isn't normal, but you won't be playing as an ordinary human being. As a member of the collective known as the Ravens, you’ll have special powers that will not only allow you to go back in time but also read memories of objects by touching them and hear voices of the past. As a member of this elite group, it will be your job quite literally it would seem to explore the aforementioned dungeons, in an attempt to uncover the past. A curious spin on the title’s genre, Deep Down has some interesting concepts surrounding it, which, if fully developed, could make for a stimulating plot line.

“A FREE-TO-PLAY GAME WITH GRAND IDEAS. PLAYERS MAY BE WORRIED TO HEAR THOSE WORDS”

Of course these areas aren’t going to be smooth sailing, they’ll be dangerous, which ultimately means you’ll be spending lots of time killing things. These things which include fire-breathing dragons and grotesque creatures won’t just be in front of you, they’ll also appear from the shadows, striking when you least expect it. Cloaked in a dark and foreboding atmosphere, it’s this aspect of the game where we’re getting our Souls impressions from. As for the actual gameplay, you’ll be playing in third-person as a knight from ‘ye olden dayes’, with spears, swords and shields at your disposal, while magical spells also look to be an intriguing part of your arsenal. Drawing comparisons to Capcom’s own Monster Hunter series, the action here will be propelled by the developer’s new Panta Rhei engine, with the title so far looking impressively realistic as a result, although whether Deep Down will gain as much of a cult following as Capcom’s excellent monster-bashing series remains to be seen.

What we do know is that this dungeon-crawler won’t produce the same place twice. With dungeons being randomly generated, players won’t be visiting previous haunts, with enemies, chests and ladder spawns also having endless possibilities. On top of that, various dungeons in the game will also reflect certain feelings of human emotion and, according to executive producer Yoshinori Ono, there are thoughts and ‘grudges’ scattered around the dungeons that you can also interact with, and if you touch them, you’ll be able to see what memories, and presumably emotions, they hold. In addition to this, there’s the multiplayer aspect of the game, which will allow players to team up with three other friends and kick some monster ass. Being largely pushed as an online game, Capcom will be dedicating a lot of both time and updates to the service but fear not, a single-player campaign mode will be available for anyone looking to play solo.

A free-to-play game with grand ideas. Players be worried to hear those words about Deep Down, especially since micro-transactions will be a feature. Some may also be sceptical as to the lofty ambitions of the game; the phrase ‘too many cooks’ springs to mind. However, while Capcom’s latest title does appear to be on the rather bold side, we like seeing a well-established company taking a chance on a new IP.