Books and classic novels are absolutely prime for video game adaptations. The likes of BioShock, The Witcher series or the Metro games are proof that gaming can tackle the complex stories that books have to offer. Now it appears that a studio is making a whale hunting simulator not too dissimilar to Herman Melville's masterpiece Moby Dick.
Essex: The Whale Hunter is being developed by Polish studio 3T Games and will challenge players to gather a steely crew of sailors in order to find and capture sperm whales. The developer confirms that Melville's 19th century novel serves as the main inspiration for the game saying its simulation will let fans truly feel what it may have been like to hunt whales in the 1800s.
As well as whale hunting, the game will require players to manage staff, keep the ship in tip-top shape, and manage money in order to generate the most profit. In that regard, it sort of sounds like a mix between a simulation game and a strategy similar to Age of Empires. The below trailer gives a brief idea of what the game will be like. It shows a dramatic cutscene in which a ship is rocked in the unforgiving waves as a whale swims menacingly close to it. It's kind of rough looking at the moment, but there is plenty of time until release for the studio to work on it.
Currently, there is no set date for Essex: The Whale Hunter, but 3T Games say fans should expect it to drop on Steam sometime in 2023, which means players have a fairly long wait until its fully released. In the meantime, the closest gamers can probably get to harpooning a whale is that giant salamander sequence in Resident Evil 4.
Source: PC GamesN