PUBG BattlegroundspublisherKraftonis announcing a new game based onThe Bird That Drinks Tearsfantasy novels. The new game, part of what’s been previously named Project Windless, was announced via what Krafton labeled an “Official Concept Trailer.” The trailer’s focus was on delivering a cinematic experience that captures the aesthetics and tone of the new game, which it certainly did. Suffice it to say, it’s not related toPUBG Battlegroundsor any of Krafton’s other works.
The new game is being developed by Krafton’s Team Windless and is very early in development. This isn’t the first time that Team Windless' work has been talked about byKrafton. Project Windless was previously announced as a multimedia collaboration. It started with the four-book Korean novel seriesThe Bird That Drinks Tears, concept artist Iain McCaig, and Krafton’s Team Windless. An art book from McCaig has already been planned, and now this trailer for a forthcoming game. More could come.
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As for the trailer, it really speaks for itself. A man with a sword decapitates a woman in gory fashion. What follows is a massacre of women by the protagonist shown in reverse, with brooding narration from the man overlaid on the violence. There’s a hint of strange magic, with the woman’s head seemingly still alive. It’s unsettling, to say the least, and certain to raise some eyebrows. If Team Windless was trying to convey an extremelydark fantasyworld, though, it certainly did that.
There’s no gameplay hinted at in the trailer, but it’s easy to imagine what could be the plan. Dark fantasy games likeThe WitcherandDark Soulsare popular and Krafton may be looking to re-create that success.The Witcheris based on a series of dark fantasy books as well, after all. The trailer for the Team Windless project does convey more of an action focus than an RPG focus, though.
Previous comments from concept artist Iain McCaig help provide more details about the project. McCaig says that the story ofThe Bird That Drinks Tears"is full of monsters and nightmarish things, and that half the time those are the good guys." Underlying the brutality, however, McCaig explains that there’s a lot of slapstick, absurdity, and intelligence.
If Krafton’s goal was to appeal to a younger, edgier audience of game players then this new trailer has certainly delivered. It’sworked forThe Callisto Project, another Krafton game, after all. But there’s a lot of work left to do to convey the fantastical world behind the violence, never mindThe Bird That Drinks Tears' story that inspired this work. Luckily, there’s a lot of time left for Krafton to share more information in the years to come.
