The Quiet Man is a live-action game under development in collaboration between Square Enix and Human Head Studios. And now we’ve got some fresh gameplay, as well as some behind the scenes talk from producer Kensei Fujinaga.
The entire design ethos behind the game is defined by a single word, unorthodox. Players control Dane, a no-nonsense brawler who has to survive a variety of challenges throughout the course of the story, which lasts a single night.
And even though it’s a relatively short experience, clocking in at three hours, the team behind The Quiet Man wants to make those hours count by making sure the unorthodox gameplay is engaging enough to stick with you. There are lots of elements that differ from a more traditional game when compared to The Quiet Man.
Even communication in the game is non-standard. The devs are crafting a unique system where the characters don’t actually make any noise, in fact there’s no sound in the entire game world, due to the hearing loss suffered by the main character. The player must use contextual clues and read body language and other hints to pick up on what is actually be said and done within a scene. The game doesn’t even feature a normal HUD either.
And it’s not just the communication and inputs that set The Quiet Man apart. The combat centers around Dane and his incredible abilities as a brawler. The in-game combat plays more like a fighting game, with specific attack types and moves mapped to certain buttons. Square is quick and vicious strikes that flow together. Triangle is for Heavy punches and kicks. Circle is for grapples and throws. And the team wants the combat to feel weighty and quick, as Fujinaga explains:
One of the main points we wanted to highlight in this game is the wide variety of combat – seriously, the combinations of grapples, attacks, and combos are amazing! They are all directed by action expert Tatsuro Koike, who is famous for being involved in properties like the Yakuza game franchise and the Power Rangers TV series.
And if you watch the second trailer down below, you’ll be introduced to much creepier side of the game complete with dead animals and plague doctor costume wearing weirdos. It will be interesting to see how the fusion of cinematic-driven gameplay, fast brawler combat and a creepy story all plays out.
All of this makes The Quiet Man sound like an incredibly unique and immersive experience. If you want to learn more about the game, check out the full writeup from producer Kensei Fujinaga over at the Playstation Blog.
Check out a pair of preview trailers for The Quiet Man down below. The Quiet Man launches on PC and PS4 sometime soon.
