Turtle Rock Studios, the developer behind Left 4 Dead and Evolve, has announced a new game, and it's pretty drastically different from their mainstays.The Well is a turn-based fantasy RPG. But the catch? It's built for virtual reality.
Designed for the Samsung Gear VR, the game is described as a "classically designed RPG built distinctively for VR" with a "dark, dreamlike atmosphere" and visual design akin to a "storybook art style."
Descriptions only capture half of the idea, however. take a look at the trailer below:
Turtle Rock has actually done a few VR games before. Titles like Face Your Fears, Blade Runner 2049: Replicant Pursuit, and Otherworlds. But a quick search on those titles will show that The Well is considerably more ambitious in what it tries to do. This can be seen in the trailer above, but it was also said by Turtle Rock GM Steve Goldstein in a statement.
"The Well is not only our most ambitious VR title to date, it is our most unique. We're excited to create a new, original fantasy world unlike anything we've seen before, and it's specifically crafted for the Gear VR platform. It's not just a fun game, it's beautiful. Gear VR is a medium that allows us to push the creative envelope and bring to life games we never thought possible."
The Well takes place in a world called Tholl, teaming with magic and fantasy creatures. You take the role of on of four classes: Warrior, Mage, Rogue, and Druid. Each one has their own strengths, weaknesses, and abilities. Assembling a party of other characters, you can level up over time, earning more abilities. Again, it's a full-fledged turn-based RPG at its core.
In a personal observation, The Well caught our eyes because it takes an existing genre and puts a VR spin on it. It takes a special touch to incorporate VR functions into a game where they'd be welcome instead of just tacking on an expensive feature. One can only hope it does well, as the virtual reality scene is still very much young and niche. We'd personally like to see more VR experiences like The Well promises to be.
The Well launches on October 11 for $10. The official website makes it unclear what platforms the game will be available on, but we know for sure it was developed for Samsung Gear VR.
