Indie publisher Ratalaika Games has teamed up with developer Steelkrill Studio to bring us a “dark and disturbing” look at the futility of war in Trenches, a survival horror set in World War One. Trenches places players in the dark, wet and dank maze of World War One trenches where you must try and live to fight another day.
Stellkrill Studio, the development team behind Trenches have done their homework to make Trenches as detailed as possible. The dev team have watched many documentaries on the first world war, researched historic incidents and cite the film ‘1917’ as a major inspiration. With Trenches, Steelkrill wants you to never forget just how brutal WW1 was.
Trench Warfare
The first world war was a war of trenches. The game begins when the soldier you play as awakes from a blast and sees the place in ruins. The soldier reaches into his pocket and pulls out a picture of his family. He knows he needs to survive if he ever wants to see them again.
Your main objective will be to escape the claustrophobic trenches and experience the war from the eyes of a soldier caught behind enemy lines. It’s a surreal nightmare and you must fight for your life and your sanity to make it home to your family.
Survival is Key
The main point of the game is to survive. To do this there are clues and objectives scattered throughout the maze-like network of trenches. The objectives will be randomised, so it will be different for each playthrough, adding to the game’s replayability.
It’s not just the maze-like trenches and clues you will need to find, a monster will also be stalking you. The monster will follow your every move through the trenches. To find clues, you will need to use a “trench whistle”, when using the whistle you will hear a crying sound which will lead you to the next clue. The only caveat, the monster can hear the trench whistle too and it will come running at you.
Being quiet and stealthy will also play a part, as enemies will also hear you if you walk on certain surfaces, such as wood. You’ll also need to be careful and not break any bottles, as this will also alert enemies and maybe even the monster stalking you.
You will be able to pick up items that will help you in the game. You can pick up things like wire cutters, a gun and a map to aid you in your escape from the trenches. But you will have to find them first.
We wanted to make players feel like they really were stuck in the Trenches and to feel helpless and lost at all times
Attention to Detail & A Gritty Atmosphere
Developer Steelkrill Studio promises and game with detail and a gritty atmosphere when Trenches lands on the PlayStation Store on January 20th. The atmospheric ambience of the game is heightened by the attention to detail found in lighting and textures. A developer explained: “We wanted to make players feel like they really were stuck in the Trenches and to feel helpless and lost at all times. The gritty atmosphere helped, but also sounds and environment plays a big part too. We focused a lot on creating the right environment and since the game takes place only in the trenches, we could focus on those little extra details when it comes to the graphics.”
Trenches lands on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on January 20th and will be available from the PlayStation Store.
