Heart Shaped Games has announced their newest project, We Are The Caretakers. The announcement teaser just went up and a playable version was available at PAX East.
Heart Shaped Games are the creators of mobile game Hero Generations. HG is a roguelike mobile strategy game where every move is an entire year of your character’s life. We Are The Caretakers is a decidedly different title.
Indeed, it’s described as an, “afrofuturist XCOM-inspired squad management wildlife RPG.” That alluring description comes from narrative lead on the game Xalavier Nelson Jr. He’s also the narrative designer on recently released game Hypnospace Outlaw.
We Are The Caretakers has listed among its influences XCOM, Darkest Dungeon, and Ogre Battle. Not to mention the game’s Steam page which states that players will make difficult, permanent decisions. This should definitely scratch a certain itch for strategy enthusiasts.
In fact, hardcore strategy fans have plenty to work with here. There are more than 20 job classes and a reputation system. The team is working on implementing procedural generation, as well.
This sci-fi squad management game is going into early access on Steam this year. The devs are planning for at least 9 to 12 months before moving on to the final release. The game will be in early access that long in order to gain as much player feedback as possible.
From the Steam description: “recruit, train, and manage an arcane team of protectors to unite cultures and defend the endangered wildlife you rely on, after the massive energy barrier that separates you from a wider universe mysteriously fails.”
They are who we Thought They Were
On the whole, We Are The Caretakers shows a lot of promise. This is one game on which to keep your eyes. The themes and mechanics at play have the potential to deliver something truly unique. The amount of variety in character classes, procedurally generated maps, and potential solutions for problems could give the game endless replayability. In any case, you get a baby Raun as a pet. 10/10
