Project Shadowglass channels Thief, Deus Ex and System Shock while dunking on generative AI

It's time to once again desecrate the looted tomb of Looking Glass Studios and remove it along with the materials for a new immersive dark fantasy simulator. Starhelm Studios has announced Project Shadowglass, a pure first-person game similar to Thief, with a light and shadow system, lockpicking, pickpocketing, noisy or quieter traversable surfaces, magical traps, heist planning, and prison escapes.

Lead developer Dominic John is one of two people behind the musical parody group on YouTube. Space bardsbut it doesn't look like you'll be singing much in Project Shadowglass. Not unless you really like being caught. Or they are great at ventriloquism. Has Imsim already allowed you to distract people using ventriloquism? Maybe next time.

The Shadowglass project is generating excitement in part because the teaser below hints at generative artificial intelligence. Long story short: a month or two ago, some clever custard posted a generated GIF of a village fantasy game, showing the player with a torch running through a valley towards a giant castle. The image received viral acclaim from AIdvocates and derogatory quote-tweets from critics. Speaking like very verbose detraAIctor, my only takeaway from the generated layout is that more games should have cloud-piercing citadels worthy of Maleficent while doing basic things with perspective.

The Project Shadowglass teaser references a mockup in the first seconds and hints at it on the official website. It's an odd response for a project whose “360-degree pixel art” technology has apparently been bubbling around for years. “Everything you see is 100% real and runs in real time right in the engine.” reads the summary. “It may look like those fancy pixel art AI videos, but it's a real game that you can play. No content or art featured in Project Shadowglass will be created using AI.”

If I were a stinker, I'd argue that Project Shadowglass's wistfully corrugated graphics convey the same musty nostalgia that fuels the rise of gene-AI culture. After all, GenAI is inherently reactionary and regurgitative, and many new genAI creators have found an audience by focusing on well-known aesthetics. The Shadowglass project simply doesn't consume as much power, pixel by pixel, and doesn't steal anyone's art in the process – Starhelm has enrolled creators of all open source Creative Commons assets used in the teaser.

As you'd expect from the pixel art movement, it looks like a no-frills love letter to the genre, combining ideas from Thief. Deus Ex and Shock. Your tactics and techniques include extinguishing torches, hiding bodies, and memorizing patrol routes. There is a persistent urban environment where you can gain a reputation as a killer, causing ordinary civilians to flee from you on sight. You'll be able to research and plan heists, perhaps purchasing new equipment, crafting recipes or ingredients before committing to a heist.

Progress seems easy. “You're not a hero with powers,” explains Steam page. “Instead, you should rely solely on improving your own planning and skills.” Of course, hand-to-hand combat is not recommended, as is falling from high objects.

Finally, some summary of the story: “In a lush, dark, and oppressive seaside kingdom, the richest nobles submitted to a new king who promised them more. The poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer. The claustrophobic city is building more and more walls to keep them out where they don't belong. High towers, so as not to hear them, not to smell them, but to always keep an eye on them. But they don't take you into account.”

I would have told you when you could play it, but unfortunately some thief snuck in and made off with an encrypted note containing the release date. They left a mocking business card “on display.”