Back in 2014, indie studio Interdimensional Games released CONSORTIUM, a neat little thing that blended adventure gaming with FPS and RPG elements. Today, in news filed under “unexpected but pleasant surprises”, they announced a sequel.
CONSORTIUM: The Tower looks to take the first game’s basic premise—dropping the player in a single setting then having them encounter problems that have a multitude of ways (and mechanics) to solve them—and massively expand on them.
Where the first game was set on a (relatively) small aircraft, The Tower is set in...a giant tower. Here’s the official sell:
The experience of The Tower is one of absolute freedom of movement, speech and action, within a single-location, sandbox environment. There will be no cut scenes, and full control will never be taken away for “gamey” reasons. Immersion is absolutely paramount, and to that end the world within the Tower will feel realistically alive and reactive to however you choose to approach each and every situation.
A branching, “waterfall” narrative and dialogue system should appeal to those looking for a truly replayable experience, and will ensure that your decisions are plentiful without feeling cheap or obvious.
Diplomacy is a key way of traversing the narrative. Choose to speak anytime and anywhere with the push of a button. While rather difficult, you will be able to play through the entire experience without raising your weapon. Trick, bribe, scare, hire, or simply convince potential combatants to disarm, all while developing relationships with your crew, other Consortium officers, the London Police, and any other characters you meet throughout the experience.
In short, they’re aiming for the flexibility of Deus Ex vs the setting/focus of 2012's badass Dredd. Not the worst combination in the world.
Despite its technical shortcomings I quite liked the original, so if Interdimensional can pull off a slicker, more stable experience this time around (and the gifs and footage on The Tower’s Kickstarter page certainly look nicer) I’ll be keen to check it out.