If you think “survival horror” means zombies and shotguns, Kodoku would like to reintroduce you to a concept called fear.
The horror genre isn’t what it used to be – these days you’re either a gung ho action hero fighting vaguely scary monsters, or you’re solving puzzles with the occasional jump scare. Carnivore Studios would like to change that. Kodoku, currently in development for PS4 and PS Vita, is a new survival horror game that’s hard to describe as anything but “unique”. And maybe also “Japanese.”
Kodoku takes place on an island inhabited by strange creatures inspired by Japanese folklore, which (judging from the short teaser) mostly seem to involve human heads on things that shouldn’t have human heads. Players won’t be able to fight their way out of every situation, and will need to use strategy, stealth, and a handful of magic talismans to survive.
“This game means a lot to us,” says studio founder Romain Toutain. “We wanted an original art direction, a very specific mood and general feeling – decisions which, we think, will lead to a unique horror experience.”
The team is drawing inspiration from a variety of Japanese legends, hence the title: Kodoku is a sort of poisonous magic that, according to folklore, involves trapping a bunch of insects and letting them kill each other until one remains. The last bug can be used to poison one’s enemies, or serve as a good luck charm and bring wealth to its owner – until the owner stops feeding it, at which point it devours them. So watch out for that – as a metaphor, or as a giant killer insect – when Kodoku arrives in 2015.
Source: PlayStation Blog
Published: Jan 31, 2014 08:47 pm