Procedurally generated. Free-to-play, and online-only. Those are but a few of the interesting tidbits surrounding Capcom’s forthcoming PS4 exclusive, Deep Down. Having first roared onto the scene during Sony’s PlayStation 4 reveal event back in February, we’ve gradually learned a little more about the studio’s Dark Souls-esque dungeon crawler, and now a fresh bevy of screenshots have surfaced over on NeoGaf, which you can check out in the gallery below.
The most intriguing aspect of Deep Down, though, is the fact that the game takes places in New York in the year 2094, despite the medieval aesthetic. As you can see, some of the screenshots below hint towards the luxurious living space of the future. Crucially, Yoshinori Ono, one of Capcom’s lead developers, has stated that the game will allow players to touch ancient artefacts and relive historic events; thus bridging the gap between atmospheric dungeons and fancy urban apartments.
Whether or not the game incorporates an Animus-like device from Assassin’s Creed as well hasn’t been confirmed. After all, Ono has kept the majority of the narrative in secrecy hitherto. Furthermore, though the game hasn’t been given a firm release date, we understand that the open beta for Deep Down will go live in tandem with the PlayStation launch date in Japan, i.e. February, 2014.
At this point, the game’s freemium business model poses more questions than answers. Deep Down is, without doubt, one of the most visually striking next-gen titles and Capcom will certainly need to monetize the game in some form – though whether that be through in-game microtransactions remains to be seen. Nevertheless, during online play, gamers will have the opportunity to co-operate with three friends in the four player co-op mode to battle with the game’s grotesque dungeon crawlers.
Deep Down is expected to launch sometime during the course of 2014 on PlayStation 4. At the time of writing, it’s unclear whether February’s open beta is exclusive to Japan or if Capcom will accommodate a worldwide test for international users. In the meantime, though, be sure to check out the gallery of new screenshots and leave your thoughts about the game in the comments below.
