The creator of Bioshock explains why his next game, Judas, is all about characters

Woman dancing in front of bright lights
(Image credit: Ghost Story Games)

Judas is an upcoming narrative-driven first-person shooter that involves you having to play another character off on one another to survive long enough to figure out their grand plan. 

In a recent blog post, the creative director and former creator of the Bioshock series, Ken Levine, discusses why characters are so crucial in Judas. "Characters have always been the driving force in every game we’ve ever made (except for SWAT 4)," Levine said. "Whether fighting beneath the ocean to assassinate Andrew Ryan or escaping a city in the sky with Elizabeth, these personalities have always been at the heart of our stories. But what if you could choose between who to befriend and who to stab in the back?"

Set in a futuristic spacefaring city called the Mayflower, players will encounter an uneasy world where machines control art, business, and the government. Citizens are encouraged to rat on each other even for the slightest mishap, so distrust runs rife. Even with all the despair, the leaders will still try to turn people into model citizens, so the protagonist sparks a revolution to tear it apart. 

From this point onwards, the big question that players will have to reckon with is whether they want to stay, see the revelation through, and fix this messed-up city. Or do you want to high-tail it out of there and leave it all to burn? In Judas, you will have to break and build bonds to get what you want and play characters for fools just to survive.  

"With Judas (coming to PS5), we wanted to craft an experience where these decisions and how the story unfolds are up to you," Levine said. "Because you, as Judas, are the driver of every event in a story with a new cast of characters to get to know — and change — in ways you haven’t experienced before in our games."

For more fantastic games like this, which are available to play right now, check out the best story games and the best FPS games

Elie Gould
Features Writer

Elie is a Features Writer for TechRadar Gaming, here to write about anything new or slightly weird. Before writing for TRG, Elie studied for a Masters at Cardiff University JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs or editing the gaming section for their student publications. 

Elie’s first step into gaming was through Pokémon but they've taken the natural next step in the horror genre. Any and every game that would keep you up at night is on their list to play - despite the fact that one of Elie’s biggest fears is being chased. 

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