PS4 getting a FPS with a major twist

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May 9, 2014

The PlayStation 4 is getting a new first-person shooter, but it's far from traditional. Announced on the PlayStation Blog today was a new indie game called VizionEck, which developer VizionEck (yes, that's also the name of the studio) says is "technically an FPS."

"It has very little in common with the traditional FPS though. In the game you play as a Ranger--essentially just a cube," studio founder Michael Ambrust said.

He described the game's art style as "clean and elegant," noting that the studio wanted to make a game that feels "mathematically 'exact.'"

"Almost everything follows a strict set of rules. The resulting world feels extremely harmonious 99% of the time," he says.

This setup creates a "great environment for the gameplay," Ambrust said. One example provided VizionEck's health system.

"As a Ranger, your health is displayed as the brightness of your outlines. Solid white and you're as healthy as an ox. Almost black and you're on the brink of destruction. Even the smallest enemy shot would mark your end," Ambrust said.

Unlike other FPS games, however, having low health is to your benefit in VizionEck, Ambrust says, because the less health you have, the harder it is for enemies to see you. "Positioning yourself over a large black surface makes your cube practically invisible. Sneaking up on another player becomes easy," he said.

"Another example of how the environment creates great gameplay is with the spawn room. There are 24 blocks in the spawn room above, but not all of them are Rangers. By just staying still, you can hide in plain sight," Ambrust went on. "Other players will not know if you're just a block or if you're a Ranger. If the enemy blasts the wrong block, it leaves that player vulnerable for a counterattack."

It's an interesting take on the FPS genre, for sure, and you can see the game's first trailer above. Ambrust notes that the trailer has "lots of secrets and game features hidden in it," so be sure to let us know what you discover in the comments below.

There's no word yet on when VizionEck will be released, or if it's coming to platforms outside of the PS4, but you can follow the game and studio on Twitter and through their website.