Ken Levine confirms: Judas is an old-school game – no online mode, no live service, just a complete story experience.
Ghost Story Games are going back to one-shooter games’ roots by creating a game without any micropayments. You buy a game and that’s in fact the whole thing. Levine describes his creation as “old-school”, and its main purpose is “telling the story and transporting the player”.
Ken Levine’s Judas: A Spiritual Successor
Eleven years have passed since Ghost Story games released their first-person shooter, Bioshock Infinite. Judas appears, at first glance, to be a spiritual successor, combining a blend of gunplay and elemental powers in a surreal alternate universe.
In the game you will travel to a space in a generation ship, Mayflower – like the English families were transported to the New World long time ago – the fictional ship will carry the last remnants of humanity to find their new place.
Just a Complete Game
“I grew up playing single-player games” Levin stated. “And I grew up before […] certain types of monetisation existed. I’m not here at all to say this is bad, or this is good, right? That’s not really my thing.” In a recent review about the the game launch, the developer said that he had followed a traditional approach – as before, Judas is a no live service game. You pay once and get the whole thing.
The developer revealed he wanted more in the game than just getting to know the characters through cutscenes that detract from gameplay immersion. It was this idea of greater interaction with the game’s characters that guided the development of System Shock 2. The goal was to create a kind of relationship between the player and the avatar.
With the concept for the new game, BioShock, Levine wanted to make that even stronger. The characters that were then created did indeed seem to be in place, but it still felt like looking through a glass window. A huge step forward came with Elizabeth in BioShock Infinite, but due to the linearity of the storyline, the developer’s idea was somewhat limited. The inspiration drawn from the character gave birth to the LEGO narrative design, which was used in Judas as a way for players to shape the story piece by piece through their choices.
Last Thoughts
In a time when most games focus on flashy visuals and set pieces, Judas feels like a step in a different direction. It brings the focus to the player and the story, showing that meaningful choices and real connection with characters still matter. It’s a reminder that games can be more than just a spectacle.