Rebellion's Strange Brigade is a pulpy co-op shooter
Pulpy adventures
Rebellion, the studio behind the Sniper Elite and Nazi Zombie Army games, have announced a new class-based shooter for 1-4 players with all the sights, fights, and colonial stereotypes of 1930s pulp adventures. Strange Brigade [official site] is its name, and shooting monsters is its game. As adventurers with different abilities, players will kick in the doors to "forgotten civilisations" and "treacherous tombs" to fight undead nasties, anthropomorphic animal monsters, and maybe even Anubis (or one of his bros). Here, have a look in the announcement trailer:
Rebellion say they'll show more during E3 next week. For now, their marketing blurb:
"There are remote corners of the British Empire where the supernatural lurks and the shadows linger, where few dare go and fewer return. In Strange Brigade you'll encounter fantastic and forgotten civilizations shrouded in mystery, uncover treacherous tombs and test your wits against unfathomable foes...
"You'll explore the ancient world as one of four dashing explorers, each blessed with their own weapons, tactics, and special superhuman powers...
"You'll fight back-to-back against a terrifying army of mythological menaces, unleashed by no less than a resurrected Egyptian witch queen!"
It's a difficult tone to strike, innit? Obviously the talk of "burden of empire" and stereotypical African warrior and whatnot are very much the material of old adventure magazines, serials, and movies, but beyond adding female heroes I don't know how much Rebellion are interrogating wacky old colonial ideas versus reproducing them. I wouldn't expect something as smart as 80 Days from the makers of Nazi Zombie Army but, y'know, I am curious.
No firm word yet on when Strange Brigade will launch. "Coming soon", Rebellion say.