REPO MAN is an intriguing first-person immersive simulation game from Achara Studios, an independent team from Poland. The game was actually announced in 2019, but at that time, the project was in the hands of Baldur Games.
The re-reveal trailer published last Friday looks far more interesting, though. What's the same is the name and the core concept - players will become debt collectors, but there's much more to it than that.
The main character of REPO MAN, Arthur Newstead, is a self-professed 'noir man in a world of sun and neon'. His career is broken, his wife has left him for someone else, and his father just died, leaving him in a debt of 15 million.
Arthur moves back to his hometown of San Alma, a colonial city that's rotten to the core, with his vintage car. He's ready to start collecting, but how to do so will entirely be up to the player, according to the developers of REPO MAN.
Will you pity the poor - and pay the price? Will you leverage the weak - and become the most hated man in town? Will you follow the letter of the law, seek accord, plot, and steal - or resort to violence? Will you ruin a good man to bring down an evil one? Will you choose a stranger's child over your own daughter? Argue and outsmart, exploit soft spots, inject ideas - all with plays represented by cards you collect over your journey, in a game of negotiation where you pit deception against trust, mercy against detachment, ridicule against fear.
Seek out your debtors in their homes, flush them out of their hideouts and ambush them at their favourite bar. Work your job by daylight and strike shady deals at night.
Enter the premises, take inventory, appraise the assets - then claim them for the office or pocket and sell them to your criminal contacts. Try to tell the worthless baubles from the valuables as you wrest them from your debtors. Put up apartments, boats, and entire buildings for auction and sell them to the highest bidder.
Art Noveau inspired the world itself, which also includes the Fae, a civilization far older than humankind that is mainly formed of drifters now that magic is gone. Combat is also available in the game, though the developers warn Arthur's foes may be far better skilled in this area.
The overhauled REPO MAN was pitched by Achara Studios earlier this year, so the release date might be far off in the future. We'll certainly keep an eye on it, at any rate.
