Dead Island dev announces Project Hell

Techland, the studio behind Dead Island, has announced a new game called Project Hell. The title is only a code name, but the game is described as a dark fantasy hack-and-slash. The team is inviting feedback as it shares insights on the development process.

The Project Hell blog says the game idea started as a weapon mod for Dead Island that allowed players to slice up monsters with aplomb. It asks for "help in making some decisions," but jokes that "we won't be asking for your money on Kickstarter."

So far the blog has posted a few pieces of concept art, and says the dark horror setting was chosen as the team remembers games like Quake and Diablo. "While searching for a dark and mature mood we are constantly referring to early European medieval times," one entry states. "It was a time when a lot of people were torn between Christianity and pagan habits – they attended masses but kept casting curses, asking oracles for advice all the while living in fear of necromancy. This gives us a believable base to build up a setting with grounds for magic bound with the evil side."