Indie developer Coffeenauts has revealed GHOSTLESS, a paranoia-soaked sci-fi survival game coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
As per the press release, GHOSTLESS blends 2.5D action-adventure with colony building, investigation, survival, and a very healthy distrust of everyone standing near the crafting bench. Think The Terminator meets The Thing, then add base management, android infiltrators, and the awkward possibility of executing the wrong person. No pressure, then.
In GHOSTLESS, players lead a human uprising against AI in a post-apocalyptic world. The catch? Some of your so-called comrades may actually be machines in disguise.
GHOSTLESS turns AI paranoia into a survival problem
GHOSTLESS takes place in an alternate 20th century, 15 years after a Cold War US cyber attack accidentally caused an experimental Soviet AI super-intelligence to turn against humanity.
Players step into the role of the Envoy, who is sent to investigate rumours of a facility where AI is creating a secret weapon. Naturally, this simple-sounding mission soon leads into a darker sci-fi story about humanity, creation, and survival.
Exploration, platforming, and combat all play a major role. Players will head through ruined city streets, abandoned buildings, sewers, metro tunnels, Cold War bunkers, and laboratories while scavenging for resources and searching for survivors.
Of course, the machines are not just sitting around politely waiting to be overthrown. A range of robotic enemies roam the world, hunting human resistors. Players can fight them with melee weapons and guns, although some enemy strongholds will need more than one stubborn revolutionary with a rusty pipe.
Build your base, then lead the resistance
Your base camp acts as the heart of the resistance in GHOSTLESS. By recruiting survivors, expanding the colony, and assigning people to crafting stations, players can build better gear and weapons for future excursions.
The base is also key to taking down enemy strongholds. Once the camp has enough strength, players can lead comrades into “incursions”, which are larger set-piece battles against major enemy forces. Victory opens up new areas of the map.
However, your base is also a prime target. Players will need to defend it from attacks, but the nastier threat comes from android infiltrators known as the Ghostless. These machines pretend to be human so they can sabotage your camp from within.
After returning from robot-infested territory, players might find a weapon station sabotaged or a comrade murdered. From there, they must investigate clues, observe behaviour, and interview recruits through a dynamic contextual dialogue system.
Get it right, and you root out a machine. Get it wrong, and you have executed an innocent person. Lovely bit of emotional baggage for the apocalypse.
“GHOSTLESS originally came out of the idea of figuring out a scenario for a game where we could capture the paranoia of classic 80s movie The Thing,” said Coffeenauts Creative Director Fábio Rosa.
“Along the way, it’s taken on a lot of other aspects and we think we’ve created something of a unique hybrid that combines elements of exploration and survival games, colony-sims, detective games and action-platformers. We are really excited to offer a first look at it with our debut trailer and can’t wait to share more!”
GHOSTLESS is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. A release date has not yet been announced.
With its mix of hi-fi pixel art, AI paranoia, resistance management, and suspiciously human-looking androids, GHOSTLESS sounds like one to keep a very nervous eye on.