Egress is an upcoming Battle Royale title developed by Fazan Studios. In stark contrast to its competitors in the genre, however, the game’s combat resembles that of Dark Souls more than other Battle Royale games. Egress is set in an alternative universe; a setting which blends a Victorian style with Electropunk and Lovecraftian elements. The game is currently in a closed beta. However, we recently had the opportunity to speak directly to Fazan Studios about their upcoming game, as well as give it a try ourselves.
VGR’s Interview With Fazan Studios
In a market saturated with Battle Royale titles, what do you hope will make Egress stand out from its competitors?
Egress is a Battle Royale game, but it’s not what you think when you hear “Battle Royale”. It plays and feels very differently. It’s not a shooter with 100 players jumping to the map. I think we can provide a unique gaming experience, such as vertical gameplay with flooding instead of a flat map with circle zones, a melee combat system, classes, abilities, rpg-elements, a special “ghost” mode for dead players, etc.
What influenced your decision to choose a Lovecraftian style for the game?
Definitely, in terms of setting and style, the biggest influence was the movie “The City of Lost Children”. Big, complicated, multi-level, island city with dirty green water – that was always one of my favorite visual images. But it’s not just a copy of the movie’s setting. We have our own lore. The Egress is actually an electro-punk – you can see antennas, power lines, and wires woven into a gloomy sinking city.
Dark Souls has a reputation for difficulty and tends to attract a hardcore audience. Is that your target audience, or is Egress more accessible?
We keep some hardcore elements, but we aren’t focused on just Dark Souls fans. Our goal is to make the game equally interesting both for hardcore players, and for a more casual audience. We’re focused on making a game that is fun to play.
In other Battle Royale games, players collect weapons and items around the map. What can players expect to find scattered around Egress?
We still have important loot in Egress. That’s where the RPG elements come out. You can find consumable items (Molotov, grenades, potions, antidotes, etc.) and artifacts that improve your character. Most valuable items are placed far away from the highest arena of the map, so you have to find them first. You can build a character with high fire damage, high poison resist, or make a balanced one.
How many Hero classes are there, and what makes them feel distinct from one another?
It’s 5 right now, in closed beta. We plan to add 3 more to the early access.
Why did you choose to use different hero classes in a Battle Royale title?
Basically, each character represents a unique playing style. Weapon, abilities, moveset, parameters – all of those give you opportunities to play, but don’t dictate a strict pattern that you have to play.
Will Egress feature in-game micro-transactions? If so, what can players buy?
Yes, we plan to add micro-transactions after release in early access. There will only be cosmetic stuff for characters and especially for the “ghost” creature, which you play when your character is dead. We have tons of sketches with cool cosmetic stuff for “ghost” creatures, so I really hope we can add this later.
Do you have any plans to add VR support for Egress?
We do not plan to have VR support. Also, the game will only have a third-person view.
What are your plans, if any, for DLC or post-launch content updates?
It is still too early to discuss. We do not have any plans for DLС. As for the current stage, we plan to release updates every 2 weeks so that all changes to the game go in the right direction. We will be able to receive from players an instant feedback on our actions and, if necessary, adjust the development vector.
SuperData recently released research suggesting that Fortnite’s success has been the result of “macro-trends reshaping the industry,” and that it has camouflaged a general market decline by cannibalizing other top franchises. As the developer of a rival Battle Royale title, what are your thoughts on this?
In general, in the entertainment industry this is a frequent phenomenon; when something qualitative and really new attracts the attention of the audience, taking away a part from other projects. However, this decreases either after a while, or when something else appears, and then everything repeats.