Showing posts with label White Creek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label White Creek. Show all posts

New Dreamcast Survival Horror Title 'White Creek' is Getting a Visual Upgrade

We recently reported on the reveal of JoshProd, PixelHeart and Storybird Studios' upcoming survival horror title White Creek, and the general consensus is that it looks (no pun intended) pretty cool. Interestingly, the mainstream press also seem to have cottoned on to White Creek's existence, and in some cases made disingenuous claims that it represents the 'first new Dreamcast release for 25 years.' I guess those outlets missed stuff like Rush Rush Rally Racing, Pier Solar, Intrepid Izzy, Xeno Crisis, Xenocider, The Textorcist, Driving Strikers, Sturmwind et al.

Anyhow, White Creek is now a known quantity, and promises to be an intriguing mix of D2, Silent Hill, Alone in the Dark and The Ring: Terror's Realm. Actually, scratch that last one. One of the main criticisms I saw levelled at White Creek when it was first revealed via trailers and screenshots, was that it didn't really look like a Dreamcast game, and instead looked more like an original PlayStation title. A fair criticism as far as I'm concerned. Looks like the fine folks at JoshProd also took heed at these observations and have given White Creek a bit of a visual upgrade just in time for the upcoming release of a playable demo.

Original left, upgrade right (click for a bigger version)

Original left, upgrade right (click for a bigger version)

These screens are taken from the video posted on the PixelHeart YouTube channel, and as you can see the background details have been reworked to give the impression that the game really was intended for the Dreamcast, and not one of those piss-poor, cash grab PS1 ports we so commonly received back during the Dreamcast's natural lifespan (yes I am indeed looking directly at you, Nightmare Creatures II).

Original left, upgrade right (click for a bigger version)

Original left, upgrade right (click for...you get the idea)

I'm personally hoping for an increased level of visual detail in the character models too, though I'm not expecting to see the kind of fidelity on display in something like Code: Veronica (the Dreamcast game, not that new one that's just been announced, obvs). 

So what do you think about this graphical upgrade? Are you more interested now that White Creek appears to look a bit more like an actual Dreamcast game? White Creek doesn't have a firm release date as yet, but it will be releasing on modern platforms as well as Dreamcast and you can find the game's Kickstarter campaign here

"White Creek" Revealed — New Footage and Info on PixelHeart's Upcoming Indie Dreamcast Survival Horror

We here at The Dreamcast Junkyard team have expressed many times over the years how the Sega Dreamcast indie/homebrew library has been desperately in need of a fully fledged horror title. We've previously enjoyed the Wolfenstein total conversion mod Witching Hour, as well as cool demos like Tunnels, but back in March, publisher PixelHeart/JoshProd announced that they would be bringing a 3D survival horror game to the Dreamcast that would be a "love letter to the classics", even going as far as to feature classic-style fixed camera angles.

Today, PixelHeart has finally revealed more details and even gameplay footage of this previously unnamed survival horror, which we now know will be called "White Creek", and will hit Kickstarter sometime in "the coming weeks", although a definitive date is yet to be confirmed.

So let's run you through all the other details we know. Obviously, please be aware that any gameplay or screenshots shown in this article are not finalised and subject to change, as the game is still a work in progress. 

As mentioned above, some gameplay footage of White Creek was revealed today on JoshProd's social media, and very much looks to take queues from the classic survival horrors of old, like Resident Evil, and particularly Silent Hill (I mean, just look at that sign with the town's map on it). The clip shows the game's protagonist, an exorcist called Alicia Morelli, entering the town of White Creek, gunning down zombie-like foes. The teaser synopsis on the game's Kickstarter preview page explains that Alicia has gone to White Creek to attempt to "contain" an outbreak of violence caused by what seems to be possessed town residents.

The synopsis also seems to imply that players will have a choice to "save [...] souls" or "condemn them". It doesn't elaborate much further than this, but it would be a cool twist to give players an option to save these possession victims rather than just pumping them full of lead. Or maybe there could be some kind of "pacifist" run option, à la Undertale? We will have to wait and see. Anyway, check out the gameplay below. Looking good, huh?

JoshProd has also informed us that they are working with frequent collaborator Storybird Studio to develop White Creek. Storybird's previous work for Dreamcast includes the underrated Dreamcast indie gem Finding Teddy, along with a number of titles for modern systems, including Finding Teddy 2, Ganryu 2, Guns of Mercy and Golden Force

Here's some screenshots of the game JoshProd sent us.

And here's a video of the devs modelling the movement of the game's main character.

We'll be keeping a keen eye on this project, and if you want to too, head over to White Creek's Kickstarter page to set up email reminders and be notified when the campaign launches. As is usually the case with PixelHeart's Kickstarter campaigns, when White Creek's finally goes live, you can fully expect there to be some cool physical editions of the game available in a variety of regional Dreamcast styles.