14 DAY TRIAL // Sunset Overdrive, the upcoming title from Insomniac Games for Xbox One, isn't afraid of breaking the fourth wall and reminding players about the game's nature, acting as a sort of opposite to immersive experiences like The Last of Us, according to its developer.
The Xbox One is set to receive a few impressive exclusive games this fall, and among them is Sunset Overdrive, a colorful, fast-paced open world third-person shooter in which players roam around Sunset City and fight monsters using crazy weapons and abilities.
Sunset Overdrive's characters know that they're in a game
After showing off plenty of gameplay footage, not to mention the many different ways players can have fun in the new Xbox One title, Insomniac has talked a bit about the references it makes to the actual gameplay experience.
According to the studio's Creative Director, Marcus Smith, the characters in Sunset Overdrive know that they're in a game and aren't afraid of breaking the so-called fourth wall, talking directly to the players.
While Smith emphasizes that some games work great as immersive experiences, like The Last of Us from Naughty Dog, Sunset Overdrive is pretty much the opposite, as it suits the whole tongue-in-cheek experience.
"It's an open world game and we have fast travel. The player character will remind you every once in a while--'That's really far. Good thing there's fast travel!' If Joel broke character to remind the player to pick up health or something like that, it would be a terrible experience. But in our game, everything is on the table," he tells GameSpot.
The HUD is also crucial in informing players
Because it's not afraid of talking to the player, Sunset Overdrive places a big emphasis on the heads-up display, which tells gamers all sorts of important things about their current state, instead of having a minimalistic design so that players forget they're in a game.
"There are games that have tried to eliminate the HUD - but a HUD is how you know a lot of information, so by removing it there's that ambiguity. For us, we embrace that there's a HUD and we call it out a lot of times and the player character will remind the player occasionally about things that are very gamey," Smith adds.
Sunset Overdrive is set to be released exclusively for the Xbox One platform later this month, on October 28 in North America and October 31 in Europe.
