Last week, with ten days left on the clock, the Shadow of the Colossus-inspired Prey for the Gods reached its Kickstarter goal. Given the scope of the project, $300,000 was a relatively small ask (at the time of writing the total now sits at $365,118 with two and half days to go), however No Matter Studios understands the pressure and expectation of creating a game in the style of a game so fondly recalled.
During a Reddit AMA, No Matter spoke directly to Prey for the Gods’ Shadow of the Colossus likeness. “We started Prey for the Gods initially with the idea to have a battle with one boss, one character,” said the studio’s Brian Parnell. “So from that SotC quickly became a game we looked at. Having been a character artist for so long it was a dream job to even begin to attempt something like that.
“As for spiritual successor, it certainly is flattering but also terrifying. We know there's expectations when something like that is mentioned. We hope being transparent as possible, engaging our fans, and listening to feedback will help with that.”
As the conversation unfolded, prospective players asked eagerly about specific features and mechanics—such as the inclusion of grappling hook which will aid exploration in ways that sound distinctly different to SotC—and No Matter explained how climbing tech was “by far the toughest” thing to implement by way of its multiple moving parts.
It wasn’t long, though, before the conversation swung back round to Shadow of the Colossus, with one Reddit user asking about specific similarities such as storytelling methods.
“I think our method of storytelling and world design is somewhat similar,” Parnell replied. “The player will learn about the events of the world not through voice over or on screen text but in world clues as to the background of the island/world. The camera will also play a role in this storytelling providing focus to elements which have significance, allowing the player to piece together the story through the visuals.
"Our world design borrows some elements from Shadow in its minimalism, but not being empty by any means. Being a team of three it also makes sense for us to develop the world in this way, making the world with very deliberate visuals and not adding clutter to that.”
December 2017 is Prey for the Gods’ estimated release date for now.
