The recent Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase had its fair share of big reveals, but some of its most intriguing announcements came from the most surprising places. A brand new interactive cinematic experience from Interior/Night is one such surprise, pushing its way past Starfield and Hollow Knight: Silksong to grab the spotlight for a few moments. Even though it was only shown for a few minutes, As Dusk Falls managed to capture the attention of a good handful of gamers, hearkening back to classic choose-your-own adventures while using a vibrant water-color art style that instantly sets it apart from the competition.

From a gameplay perspective, As Dusk Falls isn't doing anything too unique. The general gameplay loop will apparently see players take control of a range of complex characters, who each find themselves tied to a variety of intense circumstances. Players will need to make fast decisions in order to calm a situation, and ensure their character survives. If this sounds a little familiar, then that's because it is. Supermassive Games has made a name for itself over the last few years by leading the charge in this particular genre. But that doesn't mean there isn't room for competition, and As Dusk Falls' ambitious 8-player co-op mode could learn a thing or two from Supermassive's catalog.

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Supermassive's History with Multiplayer

Although Supermassive Games has been working in the industry since 2010, the studio only really hit it big with its 2015 release, Until Dawn. With great presentation, compelling writing, and a wide cast of colorful characters, Until Dawn was a thrilling journey that oozed with 1980s slasher nostalgia. But there was one particular mechanic that fans felt was missing from the game: multiplayer.

While there wasn't officially a multiplayer mode included with Until Dawn, that didn't stop fans creating their own methods of cooperative play. Though methods varied, there was one that became particularly popular. The game's characters would be divided equally between the amount of players, and whenever that character is on screen, the respective player would control them. It wasn't perfect, but it was a great way to ensure that everyone was truly invested in the narrative, and the fates of their characters.

When it came time for Supermassive to release its next branching-narrative game, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan, two multiplayer modes were included from the offset. Taking heavy inspiration from the fans, Man of Medan's most popular multiplayer mode, named "Movie Night," let up to five players journey through the campaign locally, each controlling one of the game's characters. The other multiplayer mode, named "Shared Story," let two players join online to play through the story together, each controlling half of the cast.

These multiplayer modes continued throughout Supermassive's Dark Pictures series, but with the developer's latest release, a new mechanic has been introduced. Where in the Dark Pictures series players would control a character each and make decisions by themselves, The Quarry's online co-op mode sees just one player control all of the characters, but gives every player a vote for each decision in the game. The choice with the most votes is the action the character takes, and if there's a tie, then the outcome is randomized.

What As Dusk Falls Should Take From Supermassive

According to early reports, As Dusk Falls is going to use a similar multiplayer style as Supermassive's The Quarry. In As Dusk Falls, up to eight players will be able to join the game. As opposed to Supermassive's back catalog, players can connect to an As Dusk Falls game by using their phone, keeping the experience accessible to all. Much like The Quarry, players will be tasked with voting on the game's choices, with the highest-voted decision being the one that continues the story, and impacts the characters.

If there's one thing that As Dusk Falls should learn from Supermassive's multiplayer modes, it's to make them slightly more interactive. While it's great to allow up to eight players to play a pivotal role in advancing the story, this type of gameplay can get a little same-y after a while. As Dusk Falls may want to include some more varied gameplay sections for its multiplayer mode, such as having each player use their phone independently to search a room for clues or hidden objects.

Apparently, As Dusk Falls will provide a list of stats at the end of each chapter that detail how each player has voted so far. These stats will range from the type of decision that was made, to how fast the player made the decision, even going as far as to suggest the player's potential personality type based on the choices they've made and how they could have affected the characters. If this mechanic is used to its full potential, then As Dusk Falls may already be one step above Supermassive's previous titles.

As Dusk Falls is set to release on July 19 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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