It’s not every day we see specialized studios make hard pivots in the video game industry. Generally, once a studio becomes known for a certain property, we tend to see them milk that IP for all its worth. But Runic Games will step away from its dungeon-crawling roots this year, at least temporarily, and it looks like the Seattle-based studio could have another hit on the way with its upcoming puzzle-platformer, Hob.
At PAX East, we got a chance to play the latest demo build of Hob and talk to Runic Games Minister of Culture Wonder Russell and System Administrator Sierra Soleil about the studio’s next project. As is typically the case, Runic is taking a slightly different approach to building platformer, ditching the peppy colors and tv-ready mascots that tend to star in this sort of fare. Instead, players control a silent protagonist in Hob ; a hooded figure whose arm is ripped off during the early moments of the game. We don’t have any background information on the character, nor does Runic plan to provide any during the onset.
“We’re trying not to give too much away,” Russell said. “The world is kind of in this state of massive disrepair and no else is around but you. So there’s a big mystery at the heart of it and there is a big narrative secret that we want people to discover as they play.”
Playing Hob will be the only way to learn the identity of the the protagonist and discover what is killing the world they wake up in. But the game won’t share that information in the usual manner. According to Runic, Hob doesn’t use any text or dialogue to tell its story, instead asking players to discover its secrets by exploring each area of the game, solving puzzles and helping restore balance to the dying planet. When the game begins, your protagonist isn’t exactly the world’s most capable hero, with little more than an oversized replacement arm at its disposal. But as you explore the world of Hob , the player will uncover abilities that grant access to new areas of the environment.
“Traversal will change dramatically through the course of the game,” Soleil said. “In fact, that’s a big part of [ Hob ], solving problems to increase your traversal abilities.”
If that sounds a bit familiar, it’s because Runic is taking inspiration from some of the best puzzle-focused adventure games in the history of the industry. PlayStation exclusives like Ico , Journey and Shadow of the Colossus have convinced the studio that combat doesn’t have to play a huge role in the game for Hob to be a hit. Sure, you’ll still fight the occasional bad guy, and many areas have some kind of boss or overlord to defeat. But the real meat and potatoes of the Hob experience will be exploring (and restoring) its heavily damaged world.
The first change in traversal method we got to see at PAX East 2016 comes via an electric grappling ability that players will unlock for their artificial arm. Once discovered, the grappling hook will let players swing across large gaps, yank armor off of enemies and generally lets you traverse and manipulate the world in ways you couldn’t before. Even boss battles will focus encouraging players to find new and interesting ways to use their abilities instead of acting as a test of combat prowess.
“It’s nothing like our earlier games, which were very combat driven. We have combat in [ Hob ] but it’s not the focus,” Russell said. “We’re trying to have bosses that you have to be a little bit more tactical with than just button-mashing to kill them.”
Progression will work a bit differently in Hob than it does in many adventure games. Players won’t be collecting experience points or picking new talents from a skill tree. Once again, taking time to understand how the world works — like figuring out how repairs in one zone might open up a new path in another — will ultimately determine how much the protagonist progresses. Sure, there are a handful of new new abilities you’ll unlock at specific points in the story. But there are also permanent health and mana boosts scattered throughout Hob , just waiting to be discovered by the game’s community. Finding these extras is by no means required but Russell says they’ll begin to feel invaluable by the end of the game.
Power-ups won’t be the only incentive provided for players to explore, though. Runic is well aware that some gamers just want to explore new worlds, whether that be in Hob or any of the myriad other games released on an annual basis, and the studio is including a feature that should prove particularly popular with that segment of the audience. There will be moments in Hob where the player reaches an area of the map that seems like a dead end, only to discover that the camera will pull back to provide a panoramic view of your current environment.
“The game director was very inspired by [Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons],” Russell told iDigi. “It has these moments in it, that aren’t called out, but if you’re looking for them they’re there…so we have little places where you just kind of take a breath and see things in the world that you wouldn’t necessarily see in other places.”
We only managed to trigger one such moment at PAX East, by standing between two parapets on a large, dilapidated tower. But the studio says we can expect plenty more of those moments when Hob heads to PC and PS4 later this year. Sadly, there’s still no word on when that might be. The studio is making excellent progress on Hob, as made evident by the PAX East build, but Runic is very much a studio that abides by the “when its done” release schedule. A final price hasn’t been decided, either; however, Russell says fans don’t need to worry about seeing a $60 price tag slapped onto the project. After all, this is the same company that released Torchlight and Torchlight 2 —both excellent games — for $20 each.
Hob probably won’t be the longest game released this year, since current estimates peg the game around eight to ten hours, nor will it be the only exploration game to emerge in 2016. To say the genre is experiencing something of a resurgence in recent years would be a massive understatement. But Hob manages to feel unique in an increasingly crowded marketplace, thanks to a truly gorgeous art style and a willingness to prioritize clever world-building over the violence that drives so many modern video games. It’s obviously too early to tell how Hob will stack up against some of the year’s other top releases. But it’s hovering near the top of the list of Summer 2016 releases we’re most excited for.
To get a closer look at Hob, and the exploration-based gameplay that will drive Runic’s next release, take a couple of minutes to check out the first pair of trailers for the game. Then head down to the comments and let us know what you think of Hob.
Hob is in development for PlayStation 4 and PC.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for more Hob coverage throughout 2016 and for however long Runic supports Hob in the months following launch.
