New steampunk RPG with serious BioShock Infinite vibes

A brand new announcement trailer has just arrived for New Arc Line, a steampunk fantasy CRPG set to release in 2024. The striking visual style of the trailer bears a strong resemblance to the classic steampunk FPS, BioShock Infinite. At the time of writing, very few details have been revealed about this new project, aside from the hinted clues in the announcement trailer.

Given the immense popularity of BioShock Infinite from 2013 and its continued influence on the gaming world, it comes as no surprise that the steampunk American aesthetic of the New Arc Line announcement trailer draws comparisons to Infinite. A very similar phenomenon occurred when inXile announced Clockwork Revolution, a steampunk RPG that was also known for its visual and thematic similarities to BioShock Infinite.

In terms of content, the short trailer for New Arc Line begins by introducing the game world, the fantastical city of New Arc. It then showcases some brief gameplay snippets and ends with a tantalizing glimpse of a masked, cloaked figure who may potentially be the antagonist of the story. The visual elements of New Arc do indeed evoke the distinctive style of the floating city of Columbia from BioShock Infinite, and the subtly menacing voiceover narration in the trailer hints at similar narrative themes, such as the notion of tyranny and dysfunction hidden beneath a facade of progress and exceptionalism. It is still too early to say whether these similarities extend beyond the surface. The brief hints given to fans in this announcement trailer do not reveal enough about the game's story to determine whether it will attempt to achieve the same breathtaking depth as the iconic narrative of BioShock Infinite.

The team behind New Arc Line is Dreamate Games, a Czech-Ukrainian indie studio that is developing New Arc Line as its debut game. The official website of the game describes it as a "story-rich single-player RPG set during the golden age of magic and technology." The studio aims for a release in 2024, although an exact release date has not yet been announced. Players who are excited about the announcement will have to wait for further revelations to find out how New Arc Line compares to other fantastic CRPGs that have been released in recent years.

So far, the announcement trailer of New Arc Line has revealed just enough to excite people about the project. Fans of BioShock Infinite will likely hope that this project can capture some of what they loved about that classic title, especially considering that BioShock 4 seems to be stuck in development hell. It remains to be seen if Dreamate will pick up on these comparisons in future announcements or if they will work on establishing a fresh, standalone identity for their flagship project.

New Arc Line will be released in 2024 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.