What we know about Soulstorm? (Outdated)

Links

These are links where nearly all tangible info can be found.

• Official Page
• ARG Puzzles
• ARG Summary
• ARG Tweets
• Transcript of The Informant
• GDC 2019 - "A Glimpse of a Cinematic"
• My thoughts about GDC
• EGX Talk
• EGX Transcript
• Caddicarus Interview
• Caddicarus Transcript
• Soulstorm Teaser Video
• Unite Berlin 2018
• Q&A 1
• Q&A 2
• Peter Chapman Interview

Information about the game

Most of the gameplay information in the EGX talk collected into an easily digestible list.

• Hitscan weapons are gone for good, so in theory, you'll be able to dodge bullets, if you're quick enough. Also it seems like there will be multiple types of projectiles.

Alex Carroll: "In NnT there weren't actually projectiles. In Soulstorm they are."

Nemin: "So by projectiles you mean that when a Slig opens fire at you, you'll be able to dodge it, if you're quick enough?"

Alex Carroll: "In theory. Depends on the projectile, I guess."

• The game will still be a platformer, albeit it's levels will be "much more exciting than in the previous games".

Lorne Lanning: "Abe is really about followers, empathy, puzzles. So how do we do that but really turn the volume up to eleven on the genre? So I call it a platformer game and then push that dynamic too."

Alex Carroll: "I can say our levels are way more interesting."

• You will be able to release the posessed creatures alive or violently gib them.

Alex Carroll: It's tap to release, hold for gibs.

Alex Carroll: Not necessarily harmless, mind. I just said 'release'. :)

• The game will feature a crafting system.

Lorne Lanning: "And those consumer products, he can start converting into weapons and he can have then start finding with collectibles crafting those weapons into more specialized things. So inventory system and crafting has become a key part of what Abe does to get all these Mudokons through the world safely, hopefully."

• You will be able to give items to your Mudokons, who will be able to assist you in combat, if you wish.

Alex Carroll: Ah, sorry, thought Lorne had already mentioned that. So yeah, basically, a subset of the items in the wheel can be passed to the Mudokons. That's what their aggressive boxes relate to, too. If they're aggressive, maybe they'll assist Abe in his fights... but - again - this has all changed.

• The new thematic around brew is that if a Mudokon becomes addicted to it, then two days of withdrawal will result in their death by cardiac arrest.

• The brew is also very flammable, which can be potentially used in gameplay (area control?).

Lorne Lanning: "So let's just say brew, one of the side effects of brew is that it's highly flammable. And everyone's addicted to it!"

• Abe will be able to lead a huge number of Mudokons (up to 301) and OWI completely overhauled the GameSpeak to make this comfortable to use.

Lorne Lanning: "So this game begins with 301 freed Mudokons, that you're going to try and take with you through the journey, because they don't just disappear into the ether, they're gonna stay with you and at times in real time, in play you'll be managing the survival of this many guys on screen at one time."

Alex Carroll: "We wouldn’t make it hard. If there are that many on screen at once (and in some cases there are) then Abe’s control over them is slightly different. We’ve refined Abe’s Gamespeak considerably."

• It seems like the Mudokons will be capable of fighting back and the player can select how aggressive they will act.

• Abe will have an HP bar, Ammo counter and he can also collect Moolah. And he will also be able to amass Chi, which will let him use powerful abilities.

• To get the best ending no Slig must die. (Whether we can save them or we just have to leave them be is not known.)

Lorne Lanning: "And in this game you trying not to ideally kill the Sligs either. So a perfect play nobody dies. That's hard as hell! You know, there's a lot of PTSD trauma that's going to take place before you achieve that goal, but that's our goal. In the ideal world Abe would have been able to traverse this very different, dangerous landscape and do that without killing anybody not even Sligs."

• There is now a concrete Pyramid of Power that shows us just how powerful certain positions are.

• RuptureFarms is confirmed to have burned down after it has been struck by lightning from the Mudokon Rainmaker.

• The original trio of Glukkons is now gone, replaced by brand new ones. However, Molluck has returned and he looks pretty pissed off. Interestingly there is no Dripik. As I've discussed before, he didn't have much role in the Exoddus, so perhaps he is not part of Soulstorm's story.

Lorne Lanning: "We've renamed all the Glukkons that come with the other factories, so Aslik, Dripik and all of this. These are different guys now, as we were getting more away from what that original story was."

• The theme of Occultism seems to be returning in SS as evidenced by one Glukkon wearing the "Royal Society Alchemic Science" badge.

Characters of the Soulstorm ARG

Here are some short description about each of the few characters featured in the ARG. For a more comprehensive source, please refer to TOL or the Wikia.

• SPIRIT OF 1029 - A Mudokon group of revolutionaries, created and named after Abe's deeds in RuptureFarms 1029. They like to liken themselves to a storm. Their main way of communication are short Tweets denouncing the Magog Cartel and short catchphrases like "We will rise!". Also their logo is based on the front-side view of RuptureFarms erupting in flames.

• THE MAGOG CARTEL - Diabolical as always, they both tell you that everything is fine and also that if anything is not fine, it's not their fault. They like to alternate between propaganda fliers and sardonic remarks towards employees, products and workplace-safety. Their logo is similar to the old octopus-like black and white emblem, however, it has become sleeker and taller.

• ED - This scaredy schmuck is actually a really important part of the resistance. By leaking information he brings the horrors of the Magog to the public's attention. He personally never says too much and that little is usually filled with him being afraid.

• ALF - This Mud is not someone you need to be introduced to. He's smooth as always, however, the recent turn of events and Ed's pleas have revealed this usually cheerful guy's caring and anxious side.

• ASSET98 - Another member of the SO1029. While his input provided to be very important in solving the mysteries of the ARG, his career was cut short when the Cartel caught and executed him because of the community's mishap.

• ASSET99 - Asset 98's successor, he is just as secretive as 98 was. He also provided vital information towards the solutions of multiple puzzles.

Items

In the EGX talk Lanning showcased a few of the items found in Soulstorm. Here's a list of these as seen in the video. OWI has said that these items are early iterations of what we will be able to find in the final version, so take everything here with a grain of salt. The text in quotes are the official descriptions shown in the gameplay footage, the rest are my thoughts.