Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski has laid out a vision for a new game that he says is essentially “John Wick meets Carrie by way of Lovecraft Country.”
Posting online, the retired game developer said he still wants to make this game, which he is calling “Hollow Point.” The game would take place in a “rustic New England town” during the fall, and that’s familiar ground for Bleszinski as he was born and raised in the area.
Hollow Point would be a two-player game. Player 1 would be an ex-Marine “with all the guns/boom stuff,” while Player 2 would be a young woman with psychic/telekinesis powers.
“A hurricane is coming and stirring up all sorts of Cthulhu inspired madness and monsters,” Blesinzki said of the narrative setup.
The game’s story, as Bleszinski envisions it, would feature five main acts, including “Calm before the storm,” “Landfall,” “Eye of the Storm,” Latter half of the storm,” and “Aftermath.”
As for the game’s enemies, Bleszinski said there would be two main categories, including “corporeal ghosts/demons” who take bullet/explosive damage and a second type that can only be hurt with magic. As such, Players 1 and 2 would need to cooperate and coordinate, Bleszinski said.
Another wrinkle is that the ex-Marine has PTSD and it’s an open question as to whether he is actually seeing monsters or if they are made up in his head. “F it, his aim is still steady AF,” Bleszinski said. This character would be someone akin to Vasquez from Aliens.
Player 2, meanwhile, is “full of angst and rage.” The character would begin their journey with a limited set of abilities but by the end “becomes nearly a God,” Bleszinski said.
“The more frightened she becomes the more powerful she is.Essentially John Wick meets Carrie by way of Lovecraft Country,” he wrote.
Making games is a hard, expensive process, and there is no telling if Bleszinski will ever get to make this game, but it’s an intriguing setup all the same.
Bleszinski’s history
Bleszinski worked at Epic Games from 1992-2012 where he helped design Jazz Jackrabbit and later worked on the Unreal series. His most famous work continues to be designing the Gears of War series, becoming the face of the series and earning himself the nickname “Dude Huge.” Bleszinski was also the one to announce Fortnite at the Spike Video Game Awards in 2011, but it was not a battle royale game at the time.
Bleszinski started his own studio, Boss Key, in 2014, partnering with Nexon for an arena shooter called LawBreakers. The game failed to find an audience, as did the company’s battle royale game Radical Heights. The studio would be dissolved in 2018. Bleszinski was also an early investor in Oculus, and when the VR company sold to Facebook, he secured the bag.
Outside of games, Bleszinski invested in the theatre show Hadestown, which would go on to become a massive success and win multiple Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Bleszinski also wrote a book called Control Freak: My Epic Adventure Making Video Games, which was released in 2022.
He is repeatedly asked if he would come back to consult on Gears of War, and he has said he would, but he hasn’t been asked to. He has no involvement in the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day.