Arkham Collides with the GTA Series in New Open-World Crime Game

A recently revealed crime-action game called Samson might just mark the return of Grand Theft Auto clones, and that’s a good thing in my book. Samson is set to be the debut release of the newly minted Liquid Swords, a studio formed by the co-founder and former CCO of Avalanche Studios, which is best known for the Just Cause series and a criminally underrated Mad Max adaptation.

Liquid Swords hopes to leverage its pool of talent and experience to make Samson, which is admittedly quite different from Avalanche’s previous work. It lacks the over-the-top cartoon action of Just Cause, and while it’s much closer to Mad Max on the gameplay front, its premise, tone, and structure look fundamentally different. Samson is set in the fictional city of Tyndalson, a rough-and-tumble urban jungle with GTA vibes that will chew you up and spit you out if you’re soft enough. Samson, the eponymous hero of the game, was honed into a hardened, savage killer by Tyndalson, which he called home for many years before leaving. At the start of the game, he returns to his old city, where his past is waiting to haunt him. With his family being targeted by his enemies, Samson must service his debts or pay dire consequences.

Samson is sometimes presented as Samson: A Tyndalson Story, suggesting that Liquid Swords may already have some sequels or spin-offs in mind, using Tyndalson as a hub setting for a broader franchise.

Samson Hits Like—and Sometimes With—a Truck

Samson‘s closest similarity to Mad Max is its purported balance of melee and vehicle-based combat, which is itself heavily inspired by the Batman: Arkham games. On foot, Samson is a tank, hitting hard with effective but unrefined combat techniques. It’s not a carbon copy of the famous Arkham combat formula, but the extreme focus on hand-to-hand brawling without firearms, the process of parrying/countering enemy blows, and using the environment to your advantage are all reminiscent of Rocksteady’s famous superhero franchise. Coupled with Samson‘s gritty and mature tone, this approach to combat could make for a refreshing spin on an oft-imitated gameplay rubric.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

Melee is just one half of the combat pie, though. When Samson isn’t throwing enemies through plywood walls and pummeling them with his weighty fists, he’s usually chasing them down in a car. But Samson will apparently encourage players to do more than simply drive these vehicles, as they can be used as weapons in Burnout-style showdowns as well. Vehicular combat is nothing new in the world of gaming, and Samson has plenty of great titles to look at for inspiration, so here’s hoping it makes the most of it.

Will Samson Be a Worthwhile Open-World Crime Game?

Something I’m interested to learn more about is how exactly Samson is presenting its open-world and the activities therein. On the game’s website, its setting is described as being composed of different “open world districts,” which suggests that the map may actually be compartmentalized into explorable zones rather than being one seamless overworld. Alternatively, this phrasing could indicate that Tyndalson will be characterized by its distinct districts, even if they are all technically part of a greater whole.

Similarly, the Samson site says about Tyndalson, “faces, factions, and streets change as you rise or fall.” This is another vague and enticing characterization, as it implies that players will have a degree of impact on the game world. Perhaps Samson will feature some sort of reputation system that affects how NPCs treat the protagonist, or a faction allegiance system akin to what Fallout: New Vegas has. Reactivity in all its forms can be a massive boon for any open-world game, so it will be cool to see if and how Samson approaches it.

More broadly, I’m curious about what exactly the open-world will offer in terms of side content. It seems like Samson is fairly embedded in the city’s criminal underbelly, but whether this will mean taking out targets, performing heists, or destroying enemy territory as a matter of practice, is difficult to say. A game like GTA 4 or GTA 5 will present players with all manner of different open-world activities, ranging from linear side quests to more low-stakes leisure activities. While I doubt that Samson is going to feature a bowling or tennis mini-game, it’s open-world will almost surely be elevated by gameplay variety akin to what its competition offers.

In-Game Schedules and Time Limits May Be What Make Samson Special

Again, there’s more that needs to be revealed about this, but Samson seems to be teasing some kind of in-game time management mechanic similar, on paper at least, to the Persona games. Here are two bullet points from the Samson site that hint at this kind of structure:

Action Point System: Spend your limited points on missions that matter. Once you commit, you live with the outcome.
Daily Quota: Each morning hits you with a new number. Miss it and the interest spikes, making tomorrow worse.

It appears that Samson players will have to carefully manage their time, conceptualized as Action Points, in order to get the most out of each in-game day. Considering the description of the daily quota, I assume that there is no day-night cycle, and that the game is perhaps even organized into a predetermined timeline. This is rather unusual for this kind of game, which only further piques my interest.