SOULFRAME

After nearly a decade, the Warframe devs have a new game

- Samantha Greer

It's not the most original name is it? But it is a clear declaration of intent. One part Warframe, one part Dark Souls. Though like both those influences, it'll be far from simple. Pitched as an online RPG, this action game looks to task players with protecting nature.

Warframe slowly crept into heavy narrative territory over its decade of existence, and Soulframe seems set to pick up the torch it carried, already emphasizing the personal journey of the player character in its reveal trailer. This hero is vanquished from a zealous order and cast out into the wilderness where they're rescued by nature itself. By the end of the trailer, they're ready to return the favor, drawing a mystical blade from the earth and turning their foes to stone.

In the broadest sense it's typical fantasy stuff, but the strange visual designs as well as the developer pedigree point towards high concept world building. I'd expect more than a few twists and turns ahead if the mind-bending plot of Warframe is anything to go by. Comparisons have already been made to Princess Mononoke and I think those vibes run deeper than just the big wolf that the character frees at the trailer's end.