Project: The Perceiver is a Crafty Blend of Sekiro and Ghost of Tsushima Set in Ancient China
Nov. 11, 2022Project: The Perceiver is a Crafty Blend of Sekiro and Ghost of Tsushima Set in Ancient China
Project: The Perceiver is a new action-adventure that mixes the best parts ofGhost of TsushimaandSekiro.
It’s pretty refreshing to see that more and more developers are veering more into different game settings. While we still have tons of medieval Europe or Feudal Japan locales still cropping up, we are getting a steady flow of other areas.
Project: The Perceiver is just one of these titles that is exploring ancient Chinese mythology (others beingWo Long Fallen Dynasty,Where Winds Meet, andBlack Myth: Wukong). The game was unveiled in an official announcement trailer that lasted just a bit over 6 minutes in total. And what we saw is looking pretty good.
The game follows a lone wanderer trapped in a war-torn ancient China. As such, the world is filled with different and conflicting ideals that will clash with your own. Project: The Perceiver takes place during the Xuangtang Dynasty, specifically the Tianhu period.
An unknown creature has started roaming the land, striking fear into the hearts of the commoners. Is this an avatar spawned from the depths of war, chaos, and strife? Or is it something even much more sinister? Apparently, those who have gotten close cannot even fathom understanding this happening, and whether it is an omen of the land’s impending doom.
Project: The Perceiver is comprised of many different settings in ancient China. We have small villages and temples littering the countryside. The player will also be able to explore various mountains and fortresses, as well as wide open fields. In fact, the large plains are perfect for the game’s many one-on-one duels which we’ll get to in a second.
Of course, the biggest emphasis on Project: The Perceiver is definitely its top-notch high-action combat. It is extremely fast-paced and quick, and it feels as if you’d be dead the moment you blink. Both the enemies’ and the player’s attacks are frighteningly fast, and the sound design is oh-so-beautiful.
A huge part of the game is parrying and blocking the attacks of the enemies. It isn’t clear whether parrying is automated or extremely easy in the game, or if the player in charge of the demo has godlike reflexes. Each deflected hit created a very satisfying resonance of metal, singing praises of your quick reactions.
Enemies in Project: The Perceiver are also relentless, and as such the haunting swishes and slashes were always highlighted for extended periods. You’d need to wait for the perfect opportunity to break their offense, just a split second is enough. Once an opening is created, the player can thus unleash his own fury on the hapless foe, cutting into them dozens of times in quick succession.
It also helps that the enemies react quite believably to getting stabbed in the gut. The feel and impact of the combat is quite heavy, and in an action game such as this, it is quite important. Aside from a couple of odd AI quirks in the footage, everything was quite the sight to see.
Games such as Elden Ring of Project: The Perceiver thrive on moment-to-moment action, be it through fodder enemies or through awe-inspiring bosses. It looks like The Perceiver will also have very rewarding boss fights from the looks of things.
One-on-one duels should be quite the scene in this game. The trailer footage featured one such epic fight in which our character faces off against a lone swordsman in darkened clothes.
The lone boss is quick and brutal, just like the fodder enemies. Though he is much more dangerous, as the AI mixes up both ranged and melee attacks in spades. When at a distance, he flings throwing daggers at the player, which can easily be parried. Up close, he is even more of a berserker than other foes, requiring a ton of concentration to be able to defeat. This foe can even mix in some smoke bombs to conceal the next move that he’s about to perform.
Felling this mighty foe looks like it rewards the player with a new mask to try on. It seems like the Mask system will play a huge part in Project: The Perceiver. Maybe it will be like the Great Runes in Elden Ring, or maybe it can change your character class entirely.
Aside from fighting, Project: The Perceiver looks to have a lot of exploration and platforming sections as well. The player can run across the rooftops of villages and scale smaller walls. But more interestingly are the magical platforming segments.
Some snowy mountain passes have land literally forming at your feet. Rocks and other debris create platforms where you’re about to land, creating a beautifully rendered running sequence. No idea though how the player was able to anticipate which platform would eventually be safe, but we’re glad that the sequence is in there. Aside from that, there are some ancient ruins that have rotating walls, forcing us to stay on our toes (though sideways at times).
There isn’t currently any word on when Project: The Perceiver will launch. We only know that it is multi-platform and has been confirmed to release on the PlayStation consoles.
Auberon
Writer at Fextralife. I really like vanilla ice cream.
