The Church in the Darkness

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***The Church in the Darkness*** is an upcoming game from Paranoid Productions which is planned for release in early 2017.

No one is forced to join a cult. It welcomes you. It understands you. It envelops you until the words become more than truth - they make you whole. In the late 1970s, the charismatic Isaac and Rebecca Walker lead the Collective Justice Mission. Labeled radicals and feeling persecuted by the US government, they relocate their followers to the one place they believe they can create a socialist utopia: the jungles of South America. There they build Freedom Town. But relatives left behind in the US become worried: what exactly is going on at this compound in the jungle? *The Church in the Darkness* combines unique narrative with tight top-down action-infiltration gameplay in an open-ended environment. As Vic, an ex-law enforcement officer, you travel to South America to get into Freedom Town and check on your nephew, Alex. Play how you want - you can avoid detection completely, take on the guards using non-lethal methods, or kill anyone who gets in your way. But you'll have to live with the consequences of those choices. Every playthrough offers unique gameplay scenarios and story elements, with different character personalities and a shifting narrative told through investigation and action. You soak up the story through the town PA system, where the preachers share their dogma and beliefs. You find documents and letters scattered around camp which clue you into the true nature of Freedom Town. How dangerous are the Walkers? Who are your allies and enemies? How far will you go to uncover the truth and save these people? *The Church in the Darkness* is coming in early-2017.

## History

*The Church in the Darkness* is directed by Richard Rouse III, who previously led development on The Suffering franchise, in addition to his work on titles like State of Decay, Quantum Break, Sunset Overdirve, and Rainbow 6. This project reunites him with a number of developers from The Suffering as well as other AAA veterans and some game development newcomers. The game stars Ellen McLain (best known as GlaDOS in Portal) and John Patrick Lowrie (the Sniper from Team Fortress 2) as the intense leaders of the Collective Justice Mission. Richard had worked with John on The Suffering games and knew he wanted him for the role of Isaac Walker. When they met to talk about the game, the two realized Ellen would be perfect to play against John as Rebecca Walker. The veteran actors have been involved beyond just their performances, consulting on the story and collaborating to flesh out their characters. Richard has been working in dynamic storytelling in games from his very first project (the open-ended Mac RPG Odyssey - The Legend of Nemesis), up through the branching narratives of The Suffering, and the zombie-survival narrative/simulation hybrid found in the State of Decay games. With *The Church in the Darkness* the goal is to make a game that players need to replay if they want to see all the sides of the uniquely dark subject matter.

## Features

* Set inside the Collective Justice Mission, a religious cult in the 1970s, whose true motives will only be revealed as you infiltrate Freedom Town, their remote community built in the South American jungle.
* Top-down action-infiltration gameplay that lets you play the game however you want, from total stealth, to non-lethal tactics for taking out the guards, to killing anyone who gets in your way.
* Highly replayable game, with shifting gameplay challenges and objectives for each playthrough, and a dynamic narrative that changes the motives of the cult leaders. The shifting narrative and player choices lead to many possible endings.
* Cult leaders Rebecca and Isaac Walker are brought to life by real-life husband and wife Ellen McLain (best known as GlaDOS in the Portal games) and John Patrick Lowrie (best known as the Sniper in Team Fortress 2).