Welcome to Brightville is the first game developed by Contrast Games who are based in Kazakhstan and previously they had been working on porting titles for industry giants like Xbox games, Playstation and Nintendo. This title is offering to be a futuristic action adventure title reminiscent of games like Bioshock or Lies of P with a steampunk aesthetic and set to come out in 2027.
Overview
The game is set in the city of Brightville where we play as a robot that has escaped the control of a rogue Artificial Intelligence (A.I) that has taken control of the entire city. It is up to us to fight back other controlled robots to uncover secrets and figure out our purpose.
We will also have access to some magic, for example we’ll be able to shoot electric charges or detonate traps through the use of magic as per some of the scenes from the trailer. Different types of offensive and defensive magic can be combined to create powerful explosions and even change the environment.
The images and videos released show a city full of neon lights while maintaining the old 70s-80s style much like in games such as 2024’s Nobody Wants To Die, Bioshock or could more closely resemble somewhat the environment of the dishonored games.
Gameplay Information
From the looks of it the gameplay will be fully first person and the combat will feature lots of moves that feature magic being used and close ups being shown when there are important moments at play.
Combat will also aim to be fast paced with systems that allow quick switching between the different types of magic and systems that allow us players to combine them to achieve even greater damage.
It will be interesting to see how Contrast Games plans to actually demonstrate this ability to combine different types of magic. Will there be sort of short time intervals where we can cast two types of magic back to back and they will combine together or will there be a HUD that appears along with slowing down time for players to think which types of magics they want to combine.
Incorporation Of Music
As per their steam page there will also be music incorporated into the gameplay of Welcome to Brightville but so far nothing has been shown to demonstrate this feature. What comes to mind is how Hi-Fi Rush introduced this idea.
They also mention that the music is being composed with the help of an orchestrated soundscape to further add to the immersiveness and environment that Contrast Games is trying to give through this game.
Characters also sing which incorporates the musical element into the narrative however there isn’t much information available on how exactly this incorporation is happening, there are a few games that have done so with characters but again we don’t know how this will work.
Conclusion
Overall Welcome To Brightville is looking to be an interesting title to be sure as it is blending in steampunk aesthetics with magic and the even incorporating musical elements into the narrative will be something interesting to see. The ability to combine magic seems to be an idea that could make this game standout when the time comes and hopefully Contrast Games will show how they plan to make this.
The steampunk aesthetic is sure to provide it a unique environment along with the basic narrative of us playing as a robot to combat the AI that is ruling over the city and discover the reason why this particular robot was left unaffected. A deep and concrete narrative is what can make or break the success for games like these.
The 2027 release date is far off but the screenshots provide a solid and clear picture of how far the development has come. Reviewers and journalists alike could receive copies of the game to try out and provide feedback on the current build.
