Korean gaming giant Nexon has announced its next major title, only it doesn't yet have a title. Project HP may make PC Gamer's UK readers think of delicious sauces, but it is in fact a loosely medieval-themed PvP combat extravaganza with gorgeous visuals (and system requirements to match). The announcement trailer above goes to some pains to emphasise it's showing in-game footage, and indeed the armour is very shiny.
Project HP's tagline is 'On this battlefield we break and rise again', which refers to a central mechanic whereby players who die turn to stone and crack apart, but players who have been performing well can either summon or become more powerful heroes (the trailer doesn't quite make it clear which).
Nexon is running an alpha test for some of the PvP options over the next months, which includes a 16 vs 16 map called 'Strife' and a 12 vs 12 one called 'Advance'. The game is primarily focused on melee combat with the weapons you'd expect (swords, spears, maces, so on) but also includes magic abilities.
Project HP is being directed by Eunseok Yi, a company veteran behind titles that may not ring many bells for western readers, but were huge successes elsewhere: Vindictus (Mabinogi Heroes in Korea), and Durango: Wild Lands. For his part Yi told the Korean outlet Inven that "I prepared it so that you can taste the fun and climax on the battlefield in a destructive and attractive world." He also clarified, in case you hadn't noticed the swords and stuff, that it's all about "brutal action."
The first global teaser is out for a brand new PC AAA game, [Project HP(Working Title)] filled with brutal action by Eunseok Yi (Director).https://t.co/1pZrsWBdCshttps://t.co/T6bMVf5uke#ProjectHPJuly 6, 2021
Nexon emphasises again and again that this is a 'premium triple A' PC title that is aiming at the higher end of the market. So the downside of those visuals (the teaser is in 4K and 60FPS) is that the minimum requirements are pretty high, to my mind at least. The minimum specs you'll need are an Intel i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and an Nvidia RTX 2060 or higher.
The game's official site is here, though sparse on information. There's no release date, though applications for the alpha test are now open until August 6, from which date it will run for four days. Don't get too excited and run off applying though: it's going to be limited to Korean players.
