Ken Levine’s long-awaited return to the world of gaming will soon come in the form ofJudas, a sort of spiritual successor to his seminalBioShockfranchise, though set in space and with a few key changes to the gameplay loop. Though theinformation available aboutJudasisn’t exactly exhaustive, there’s enough intel out there to establish a few of its major elements, especially as they pertain to setting and aesthetic.
Some have assumed—perhaps as a result of Levine’s work history—thatJudaswill be an experimental and, eventually, influential game. While this could very well turn out to be the case, it’s also clear that it’s taking inspiration from a number of other projects, including those that the originalBioShockinspired, like 2017’sPrey, and even other action-RPGs and roguelikes likeDeathlooporHades. Aesthetically,Judasseems to be continuing an enduring visual motif prominently featured in the likes of Round8’sLies of P, and it will be interesting to see if this particular artistic tendency yields similar narrative or thematic results.
Judas, Lies of P, and the Horror of Rogue Automatons
Lies of P and Judas Both Emphasize Unsettling Robot Enemies
For a game inspired by the story of Pinocchio,Lies of Pis surprisingly creepy. Much of its tone can be attributed to its decidedly dark atmosphere: the game certainly adheres to most of the visual tropes associated with the horror genre. But the horror ofLies of Pseeps a bit deeper beneath this surface level, burrowing into the psyches of players by toying with their understanding of what it means to be human.
Lies of P’s protagonist is, for all intents and purposes, a robot. He’s an advanced one, to be sure, but he’s a robot nonetheless, made of springs and gears rather than flesh and blood. Thevarious enemies ofLies of P, who sled through the ups and downs of the uncanny valley, are reminders of the ugly truth behind the hero’s very existence, the thin line between human and monster that underpins the game’s narrative.
Judasseems to be toying with similar ideas. The game will be set aboard a massive space vessel called the Mayflower, which is run by computers and led by three automatons: Tom, Hope, and Nefertiti, who all have differing perspectives on the meaning of life and humanity. Beyond these central characters are more commonplace enemies, which seem to adhere to nostalgic robot design tropes, like nightmare versions ofThe Jetsons' Rosey. It’s through these enemies thatJudascould invoke the same visual and thematic touchstones asLies of P.
Judas Could Offer a Different Take On Lies of P’s Automatons
With such a fundamentally different story, both in terms of plot and presentation,Judascan be expected to employ its automaton enemies and characters in a far different way thanLies of P. One interesting parallel between the games is their recontextualization of technology:Judas' robots are designed for a particular purpose—some are shown to be focused on cleaning, others are cooks, et cetera—but they have left these original directives behind and become aggressive. This is similar to howLies of Ppresents its robotic companions, subverting their utility and making them into unexpected killing machines.
ButJudasis obviously remarkably distinct in terms of its setting, so perhaps it could play with this concept in a different way. Being so far away from Earth, disconnected from the basic familiarities of home, is a premise that lends itself particularly well to horror, so the inclusion of these uncanny, violent automatons, and their ostensible betrayal, could hit from a different angle.
Judas
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Judas is a sci-fi first-person shooter game made by BioShock creator Ken Levine that’s set on a massive spaceship called the Mayflower.
