Ultraworld is the brain-child of one artist: industry veteran James Beech. After working on AAA titles such as DC Universe Online, Crysis 3, and Half-Life 2 mod “Weekend Warrior”. Beech left his previous job to start his own company, Neon Serpent, LLC. Neon Serpent is dedicated to creating interesting, artistic games. All of the resources that went into making Ultraworld came straight out of Beech’s pocket.
A first-person explorer, Ultraworld takes the player into a series of fantastical, self-contained environments. The player must explore the areas and solve puzzles in order to help a lonely video game character face his existential crises.
Ultraworld was created using CryEngine. It boasts minimalistic textures and polygons paired with bright colors and interesting layouts. The overall effect is surreal and strangely inviting. According to Beech’s write-up for the game, the visual schemes were inspired by his own acrylic paintings, his father’s watercolors, and his great-grandfather’s etchings. Its soundtrack is also very eccentric, featuring ethereal, electronic, ambient sounds.
Players can expect a casual, relaxing experience with Ultraworld. The story takes about 2-4 hours to complete, though there is extra post-story game time for players who are interested. The official website made a humorous list of what players should and should not expect from Ultraworld:
FEATURING
exploring, relaxing, and thinking
NOT FEATURING
jumping, shooting, crafting, survival, Nazis, zombies, space marines, fetch quests, high scores, co-op, multiplayer, microtransactions, DLC, or DRM
Judging from this list and the game trailer, it looks like this game is shaping up to be a philosophical, narrative-heavy adventure. It is currently available for purchase straight from the developer’s website. You can also vote for it on Steam Greenlight.
