At PAX East 2023, we met with THQ Nordic to preview four of their upcoming games. Before going to PAX, we were asked if we wanted to preview an upcoming game called Project Train. At the moment, Project Train is still a working title, however, we can still share with you our gameplay experience.
When we heard that THQ Nordic would be at PAX East, we hoped that AEW: Fight For Forever would be at the show; sadly, it was not available. But that didn’t stop us from enjoying the games that THQ Nordic had prepared for us. Besides Project Train, we also had the opportunity to preview Wreckreation, Alone in the Dark, and Outcast 2.
Alone in the Dark
If you have ever been a fan of horror games you have probably heard of the Alone in the Dark franchise. Fans of the franchise have eagerly been awaiting the return of the franchise. Almost a decade has passed since Alone in the Dark: Illumination (2015) was released.
Now, Pieces Interactive looks to reboot the franchise by reimaging the original Alone in the Dark. Set in the 1920s, players will be able to choose to play as either Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood and uncover the mysteries of the Derceto Mansion. What dark secrets lie inside?
The PAX East demo had us play as Emily Hartwood’s Uncle and send out a letter after some mysterious things have happened around the mansion.
The overall demo was fairly short taking about three minutes to complete, but showcased the horror elements within the game. Some of these key elements were jump scares, changing environments, and causing unrest from set up and composition.
The game’s controls were fairly simple to use taking the Resident Evil control pattern, making it easy to navigate and transverse obstacles. Graphically, the demo looked impressive but only seeing a small portion of the game does not give us much to work with. We do look forward to the future release of Alone in the Dark despite the short demo.
Alone in the Dark is coming to Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. A release date will hopefully be confirmed soon!
Outcast 2: A New Beginning
If you had told us a few years ago that we would be getting a sequel to the 1999 game Outcast, we would have called you a liar. After remaking the original game in 2017, critics felt the game was fairly average, however, fans of the series loved Outcast: Second Contact.
Now two decades later, fans and newcomers to the series will be able to see the continuation of Cutter Slade’s story in Outcast 2: A New Beginning. You can find our first impressions on the game here:
Impressions
Out of all the PAX East 2023 THQ Nordic demos, this one was probably the longest. The demo we played was the same demo shown at Gamescom 2022. Thrown straight into combat, we were forced to take down enemy robots. After escaping from the robots, we are able to get inside but experience tremors.
The flying and gliding within the game gave us a great opportunity to explore the world and move around quickly. Once we gathered enough information from the villagers, we set out to liberate them from the earthworm threat. Moving around while fighting the enemy was rather enjoyable; combat within the game didn’t feel held back by the game’s movement system.
Outcast 2: A New Beginning is coming to Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. A release date will hopefully be confirmed soon!
