War of the Worlds is one of the first thriller films I remember watching, with Steven Spielberg’s visionary take on the classic tale landing back in 2005.
That was, of course, an adaptation of H. G. Wells’ 1898 novel, The War of the Worlds.
Over the years, several video games have attempted to adapt the story, although I wouldn’t particularly say that any have really stood the test of time.
A new iteration though is soon set to come our way.
FlipSwitch Games has been quietly working on War of the Worlds, an upcoming “hardcore horror open-world survival game” which is actually based on the aforementioned 2005 film more so than Wells’ novel.
It doesn’t follow the film exactly. You won’t be stepping into the shoes of Tom Cruise’s Ray Ferrier, but you will find yourself within that version of the story.
“Survive a week in an open world while avoiding giant alien machines that will exterminate you on sight,” the synopsis teases.
“Avoid demise from dehydration or starving by scavenging and looting for food, resources and other tools to aid your survival in an alien invasion apocalypse. Watch the military’s measly attempts to fight back.”
In addition to avoiding the game’s large alien creatures and their vessels, players will also face plenty of human threats who will want to steal your resources. That’s because War of the Worlds is a multiplayer experience.
“Multiplayer delivers a unique experience allowing you to pick a side, humans or aliens. As the aliens, your goal is to exterminate all humans, harvest their blood, and fertilise the earth with it,” the studio explains.
“As team humans, your goal is to be the last man or group standing and outlive the aliens long enough to fight back and find a way to bring them down. Will you survive the war?”
War of the Worlds’ Multiplayer Gameplay Looks Incredibly Promising
For now, War of the Worlds is only scheduled to land on PC via Steam.
There’s no exact launch date but we do know that it’s set to land in early access before a full launch goes ahead.
In recent days, devs did drop a first look at some multiplayer gameplay and I have to say, it’s all very promising.
The 50-minute long development update is worth a watch, showcasing the game’s high-octane first-person action.
Seeing the alien vessels quietly skulking across the map at night is actually terrifying. Turn your torch on at the wrong time and they could very quickly be drawn your way.
A short way into the update, we see one of the alien vessels firing its laser, prompting both chaos as a major blaze breaks out.
It really does capture the intensity of the films.
This is all pre-alpha gameplay so fair to say, it’s probably going to be a while longer until War of the Worlds launches, but it looks like a game well worth keeping an eye on.
