It’s always nice when a new project with an engaging premise and some rather ambitious systems comes into play. Liquid Sword’s Samson fits that bill perfectly, and the fact that it’s hit the 250,000 mark for wishlists on Steam is evidence that we’re not the only ones who think so. But we worry that the rest of you might be holding it against the wrong benchmarks, and that a small shift in your perspective could change the way you look at it.
The game’s promotional materials sell a world that’s impactful, but puts an emphasis on the grime that layers it all, and the style with which you’re able to deal with it. But that’s not what has us so excited to get our hands on this one. Instead, we think that Tyndalston’s gritty vibe is a potent backdrop for a game that constantly puts you under pressure, while forcing you to be disciplined about the way you approach tough situations, with very real consequences for bad decisions.
Wondering how we arrived at that conclusion? We’re happy to take you through that rather entertaining train of thought, so let’s dive in.
The Weight of the World
Samson’s core premise is decidedly heavy, and we think that it’s intended to be that way, as it underlines all of the chaos that life in Tyndalston has to offer our world-weary protagonist. He’s in deep debt with the wrong people, and the price of failure is his sister’s life. He’s managed to buy himself some time to set things straight, but it’s never that simple when your back is against the wall, is it? Your “debt grows by the hour”, since every missed deadline adds a hefty interest that piles on if you let it go out of control.
Your debtors are greedy, wanting to squeeze every possible bit of value out of a man who has managed to get himself entangled deep without any exit route, or even the hope of one. You only have that many action points to spend every day you’re in Tyndalston, and you have to use them as wisely as you can if you’re intending to keep your head up. There’s no safety net or do-overs if you get things wrong, and you’re just going to have to learn to live with the consequences of your actions.
It might look like a crime fantasy from a distance, something akin to a GTA-lite sandbox, thanks to how its visuals present Tyndalston. The clock’s like a ticking time bomb, working against you in an experience that doesn’t encourage casual improvisation in the face of complex problems. Instead, it seems designed to have you feeling cornered and under constant pressure to learn how to make the most out of systems that put you on the back foot.
In Tyndalston, Samson isn’t the hunter, but is rather the prey, and his survival is in your hands. Those are some high stakes, and it’s a good thing that the game’s combat looks like he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve. But will they be enough?
Fighting For Your Life
The game’s official position on its combat system is that it emphasizes using the world around you and improvised tools to sustain the momentum you manage to gain in a fight. With over twenty-five skills that can make Samson quite potent with his fists, with brawling being an important part of the experience, working alongside driving mechanics that come with the same design underpinnings, it can be easy to think that you’re going to be solving a lot of Samson’s problems with some stylized violence.
Once again, we think that the game’s most important message is being buried under expectations that might not truly align with the kind of gameplay loop it’s trying to sell. We couldn’t help but think of Sifu when forming our impressions of Samson’s combat. They may be entirely different games on the surface, but we think that every fight in that excellent martial arts experience was a desperate struggle to stay one step ahead of your foes through calm, calculated movements and positioning combined with some dexterous moves.
Samson’s combat could come with a similar vibe, requiring that you use his skills with precision instead of raw aggression. He’s one man against the world, and it seems designed to bury him under its weight, irrespective of how strong you can make him. We believe it’s not about the stylish chaos you might expect from a crime sandbox, but a more disciplined approach that requires restraint and aggression in equal measures.
Of course, Samson isn’t going to rely solely on his martial prowess, and there’s another important layer to his time in Tyndalston that deserves his due. We’re talking, of course, about his car.
Creating Distance From Your Problems
What does one do when their problems seem to be suffocating them, with seemingly no escape? Well, they try to run, of course. Samson isn’t above trying to put some distance between himself and his enemies to get some breathing room, and, as such, is going to depend on cars quite a bit as he tries to deal with his debts. The game’s been quick to refer to vehicles as blunt weapons, and that they’re going to be quite important to you as you engage with Tyndalston’s underbelly in your desperate efforts to get ahead.
Of course, every world-weary hero needs a ride they can count on, and for Samson, that’s Pacific Drive. It’s been presented as your only companion, a constant in a world that’s primed to pull out the rug from under your feet time and time again. You’re going to need it, as trying to run is only going to have people trying to catch you with chases, collisions, traps, and close-quarters encounters being touted as a part and parcel of life back home for Samson.
All of that looks like your car is going to be an integral part of your time in the game, woven into the gameplay organically enough to make it a foundational inclusion, not a decorative one. Pacific Drive isn’t a fancy toy for you to play with, but a potent tool that you must use to its fullest if you want to increase the chances of your survival in this game’s gritty world, which brings us to how the game seems structured.
A Focused and Frenetic Experience
We think that Samson isn’t going to be a stream of content that many would call bloat, an attempt to pad out a world that otherwise feels empty. The reason for that is the developers telling us that the main story is roughly ten hours long while that’s a rather short run time that doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t be a good one.
Well, Samson might disagree considering why he’s in it, but we think that the game is more about quality over quantity, and that Tyndalston is going to pack more meaningful content that fits within the larger narrative to make a cohesive, focused adventure that sustains a fast pace while maintaining the tension that the game places on your shoulders. It’s a game that doesn’t seem interested in mass appeal, instead focusing on delivering a memorable experience for those players who choose to engage with it.
And while we’re on the subject of the game’s world, it’s time to turn our attention to Tyndalston as a stage upon which Samson’s fate unfolds.
A World That Keeps You In Check
With the game’s official position being that the chaos you create dictates the pressure you’re going to face, it only makes sense to weave the city itself into that loop. Samson isn’t just running from outlaws, but from a reactive sandbox that’s just waiting to respond to his actions in the game.
The city fights back if you try to push it too hard, and demands that you carefully navigate its intricacies via your interactions with the various factions and people you’re going to meet as you try to help Samson find a way out of his quandary. Tyndalston isn’t a city that’s waiting for your strong hands to take over it, but is instead one that remembers what you do, and responds to those actions in ways that matter via tangible shifts to its streets and who you meet in them.
That’s a facet of the experience we can’t wait to see more of, if we’re being honest, as we think Tyndalston isn’t going to be like GTA, where you go all out to create chaos. It’s less of a playground and more of a pressure chamber that you’re meant to navigate with care and tact, evolving your strategy in the face of a constantly shifting world.
Balancing Excitement and Expectations
Samson’s wishlists are definitely a cause for celebration, and all of those players waiting to dive in are not wrong to be excited for it. Heck, we’re more than ready to dive in and see how its systems come together after all. But we can’t help but wonder how much of the hype is built around the aspects of it that are more in your face. It’s so easy to think of this one as a crime fantasy where you unleash your fists and drive around causing mayhem as you evade your enemies or bring a grisly end to their bad intentions towards you.
But it’s more than that. We’re excited because we see a game that’s built on tension, requiring a restrained approach while you navigate choices, while trying to offset trade-offs that come from your decisions. The game’s wishlists are only an indication of how many eyes are on it, and the hype surrounding it is certainly justified. But for a game as ambitious as this one, the expectations that its players carry might be a factor that influences its early reception.
We believe that Samson is going to be a pleasant surprise, not because its size and scope surpass what is expected of it, but rather because it won’t be a game that’s afraid to hit back at every turn, and demand more of its players than they are ready to give it. And that’s the part we’re most excited for, as we love beating a game that does its utmost to punish us.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.