Noct gameplay trailer shows off top-down survival action against monsters and worse

Noct

We first head about top-down survival horror game Noct last year, when it went to Kickstarter in search of $22,000 to realize its sinister ambitions. It came away with far more than that—$36,000 and change—and today we hear that work on the game is nearing completion and it will be out on October 22.

Noct sets players off into the wastes of the ruined Earth, viewed top-down through the thermal imaging eye of a satellite. The job is to explore the wasteland and try to uncover the reason for humanity's downfall, but the task is complicated by the presence—optional, for those who prefer to fly solo—of other human survivors, who may want to help out, or may want to simply help themselves to your stuff.

That Rust-like element is what makes Noct interesting. The monsters that have taken over the world are obviously an issue, but as usual, the real problem is your fellow man. It's the prisoner's dilemma, but with heavy weaponry and lurking Lovecraftian horrors: Even when facing the outright extermination of the human race, lhe rational thing to do is not always the thing that will be done.

The soundtrack for Noct is being created by Wordclock and Robin Finck, the guitarist for Nine Inch Nails, who was "invited into the world of Noct to compliment the established work of Wordclock, and to collaborate, bringing a spirited sense of melody and hope to an utterly devastated terrain, one enshrouded in despair and haunted by... creepy fucking monsters," he said. "It has been a hair raising experience, cooperating to design the immersion of this audio trek. The team are each scrupulous creatures and together we enjoy turning over many stones."

Noct is being released in Windows, Linux, and Mac flavors, all on Steam. Find out more at noctgame.com, and while you're at it, enjoy some screens.

Noct

Noct

Noct

Noct

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.