Nearly three years ago, Ken Levine shared the first look at Judas, his long-awaited follow-up to BioShock Infinite. Players have noticed some obvious visual similarities between Judas and the BioShock games, but according to Levine, it represents “the biggest radical departure” for him since the original BioShock.
“There are parts of Judas that are more similar to BioShock, and there are parts of Judas that are really really radically different,” explained Levine during an appearance on MrMattyPlays’ YouTube show. “I’m sure people notice there’s a gun in one hand [and] powers [in] the other hand. We have an additional hacking thing which we haven’t shown off that much. But the way the game works, the way the game is populated, and the way you choose between these relationships is something we’ve never ever done before. The way the world is decorated, the way encounters come in, the way you choose paths in the game, those are all so radically different. … This is probably the biggest radical departure we’ve made since I did BioShock.”
Judas is the name of the game’s main character, who finds herself trapped on a generational spaceship called the Mayflower. The Mayflower is carrying the last survivors of humanity, and their fate may be tied to three powerful individuals on the ship and Judas’ decisions to befriend or alienate them.
During the interview, Levine described his new story engine as “narrative Legos,” which can place important events at different parts of the story depending on which choices the player makes. Levine also indicated that he is “placing trust in your audience and being okay with them just missing stuff” if they choose one narrative path over the other.
Earlier this summer, Levine stressed that Judas will avoid live-service elements and other major gaming trends in favor of preserving a single-player experience. Levine also demonstrated how players will make friends and enemies among the three major characters in the game.
Judas doesn’t currently have a release date.