Highlights

  • RetroSpace offers a fresh take on immersive sims with a discopunk setting, embracing player agency and gory gameplay.
  • The game pays homage to classic sci-fi influences, blending body horror and immersive sim gameplay in a ruined space station.
  • Players can choose between stealth and combat in RetroSpace, with mutamods offering exciting new abilities for diverse gameplay.

The past few years have been good for immersive-sim fans. From Cruelty Squad’s surreal biopunk dystopia and Shadows of Doubt’s detective sandbox noir to Ctrl Alt Ego’s psychedelic space adventure and the recent System Shock remake, gamers have been spoiled for choice when it comes to immersive adventures emphasizing player agency and open-ended gameplay. Still, even in such a crowded space, sometimes a game manages to stand out; RetroSpace, an upcoming ‘discopunk’ im-sim from indie dev team The Wild Gentleman, looks to be one of those games.

First announced in early 2023, RetroSpace is the next release from Chicken Police developer The Wild Gentleman. A spiritual successor to 2017's Prey, RetroSpace lets the player loose on the Aurora 5, an abandoned space station filled with mutants, madmen, and mysteries. Promising players a narrative-heavy immersive sim experience in an open-ended setting, RetroSpace looks to be an exciting addition to PC gaming’s immersive sim landscape, and its retro-future aesthetics cover a niche that has not yet been filled by other games in the genre.

Bloody and gory gameplay looks to be a big part of RetroSpace. While players will be able to clean up blood in order to stop the smell from attracting enemies, they will also be able to spread blood and viscera about in order to make surfaces slippery and attract monsters.

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RetroSpace Interview: Dev Talks Horror, Immersive Sim, and Space Station Design

Game ZXC chats with the writer and designer behind RetroSpace to discuss the highly anticipated immersive sim inspired by System Shock and Half-Life.

Why RetroSpace is a Loving Homage to Classic Sci-fi

Calling back to some of gaming’s most iconic space-horror experiences, RetroSpace wears its inspirations on its sleeve. With body-horror alien mutations reminiscent of Dead Space, and immersive-sim gameplay paying homage to System Shock 2 and Prey, the game looks to situate itself as part of a long tradition of video games set on ruined space stations. With Void Bastards, Bioshock, and Half-Life also cited as influences, it’s clear that developer The Wild Gentleman is confident in RetroSpace, inviting direct comparisons to some of gaming’s most beloved and influential titles.

Beyond video game inspirations, RetroSpace pulls from film, TV, and literature to craft its unique 'discopunk' setting. With environmental design that evokes the pulpy, chunky space-optimism of classic cinematic sci-fi—such as 2001: A Space Odyssey,Solaris, and Forbidden Planet—and the game’s unique black-comedy approach calling back to Red Dwarf, RetroSpace is a loving homage to the entire history of science-fiction storytelling. The game even has shades of literary science-fiction, with The Wild Gentleman citing Philip K Dick and Stanislaw Lem as important influences.

RetroSpace is All About Player Choice

RetroSpace is committed to player choice. At its most fundamental level, the game's core focus is on letting the player decide between taking a stealthy approach or going in guns-blazing. While that choice might seem simple on the surface, the game’s interlocking gameplay systems mean that taking one approach or the other opens up a series of further choices. While a stealthy player is free to creep through levels like a ghost, RetroSpace also allows stealthy players to set traps, set up distractions, and/or take out enemies silently. On the flipside, the game’s numerous weapons and varied environmental interactions also provide players with a number of different options when it comes to a more balls-to-the-wall approach.

One of the ways in which RetroSpace really hopes to mix up the gameplay is with its ‘mutamods.’ These biomodifications—reminiscent of Prey’s Neuromods and Bioshock’s Plasmids—promise to give players a host of new and exciting abilities. Tentacles, mind control, and enhanced stealth capabilities have all been teased so far, and there are likely to be many more in the game once it releases.

RetroSpace Looks Like a Breath of Fresh Air

With its kitschy retrofuturist approach and diverse set of inspirations, RetroSpace looks to be taking a unique approach to the immersive-sim genre. Unfortunately, with the game still in active development and no demo yet available, it looks like it might be a while until players get their hands on the game. Interested gamers are encouraged to wishlist the game on Steam to stay up to date with RetroSpace's release schedule.