As part of our upcoming magazine issue,I did an interview eith Sebastian Wojciechowski, President of People Can Fly about the return of Bulletstorm. Excerpts from the full interview are below.
What was behind the decision to bring back Bulletstorm at this time?
Sebastian: Bulletstorm has had a cult following since it originally
launched in 2011. It was well received by critics, with many calling out
the unique gameplay mechanics and addictive Skillshot system. The story
and dialogue were also praised by many fans who loved the experience of
the game. We feel that now is a great time to bring the game back because
it does have that core fanbase that wants to dive into the game again and
experience what it’s like now on new hardware with even better
presentation and new content. That’s just considering existing fans who
want to revisit the game though; there are many gamers out there who have
never played Bulletstorm and so this experience will be completely new to
them.
For those fans, this is the perfect time to jump into Bulletstorm because
Full Clip Edition is the definitive version of the game. It contains the
original game along with all of the DLC released, along with new content.
And since such a huge part of the game is built around stringing together
stylish combos with Skillshots and precision gunplay, we feel that
gameplay streamers will love showing off what they can do in the game to
their audience. Twitch, gameplay sharing, and other social aspects of
broadcasting your games to a global audience didn’t exist for gamers the
first time that Bullestorm launched, so we’re excited to see what content
creators will be able to do with our game.
What can you tell us about the new content that will be featured in the game?
Sebastian: In addition to all of the add-on content that was released on
top of the original game, Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition includes a new
Overkill Campaign Mode where you can play through the campaign with no
restrictions and have immediate access to all weapons and Skillshots from
the start. There are also six new Echo Mode maps where you can showcase
your skills to the world. And for fans who pre-order, there’s Duke Nukem’s
Bulletstorm Tour – which is all-new content that allows you to play
through the entire campaign as Duke Nukem with a reworked script and all
new VO from Jon St. John, the voice of Duke.
Bulletstorm was a fun game that never really clicked with the masses the
first time around. Why do you think that is and what makes you think that
audiences will be more receptive this time around?
Sebastian: The original Bulletstorm was a game that was well received by
critics and fans. It ended up with an 84 Metacritic score which is pretty
great when compared with other AAA first-person shooters that followed it
in the years since. Reviews from the first launch have indicated that the
game we shipped was liked by fans and press, and that’s what we focus on.
We know the foundation of the game is solid. When we started working on
Full Clip Edition we said to ourselves – OK, let’s focus on the most
important things that original Bulletstorm gamers pointed out as areas we could do better and just follow the list. We’re hoping that the hard work
we did to improve the presentation and overall experience will ultimately
resonate with fans, as so far the response from the community to Full Clip
Edition has been positive.
Why a remastered game versus a sequel?
Sebastian: Since the original Bulletstorm game was launched six years ago,
we wanted to bring it to a new audience and new consoles first, hence the
Bulletstorm: Full Clip. This is also a great way to assess what is the
appetite for the next iteration of this franchise. We are very passionate
about the Bulletstorm brand and it’s something we hold very dear at People
Can Fly. However, developing a AAA game in the current console generation
means a huge investment so strong sales with Full Clip together with
gamers’ love and praise for this title will create a very strong business
case that could support a decision regarding the future of the Bulletstorm
IP.
(the full interview will be available in the March issue of the magazine)
