A Deep Dive into Project Awakening

Do you like Swords? Do you like hunting down dragons? Do you like some intense combat? Well then Cygames’ new title, Project Awakening, may just be the game for you. Project Awakening was first revealed last year during the PlayStation Lineup tour sporting just one trailer and little information. I have done some light scouring through the internet to see that not many people are talking about this game at the moment. And rightfully so, there is no information or release window for the game yet. Although Cygames did recently file a new trademark for the game under the name Project Awakening: Arise which could bring forth an alpha. So what is Project Awakening? After watching the trailer over and over (and over and over) I think we can make some educated guesses about what’s to come. Let’s dive in.

The Hunt is Back On

Throughout the beginning section of the video, you can hear a man talking. A couple of lines stood out to me that we can break down:

“The era of unending peace is past. It is now time for we wolves of war to awaken”.

There is some good stuff in here (to me anyway lol). The first part of that could simply mean there has been a long-standing peace and something has disturbed that peace. Easy enough. But I think that second part sheds more light on the first part. I think these “wolves” are the warriors that take on the responsibility of slaying these monsters (which may be the cause of the peace coming to an end). Something has made the monsters return and the “wolves” need to come back to get rid of them again. I like it.

Tracking Monsters

Let me start off by saying that this trailer is awesome. The animation looks great and combat is riveting. But back to the task at hand. If you stop the video at twenty-six seconds, you can see our warrior investigating a broken branch on his way through some ruins. Most likely made by a very large beast (I don’t think a squirrel was scurrying about and destroyed that branch). This could hint at some monster tracking mechanic in the game, similar to what we have seen in games like Monster Hunter: World, where you would follow monster footprints to track down the beast.

Help Along the Way

A few seconds later you see our warrior walk past a battered helmet of, presumably, a fellow warrior who tried to slay the beast but was unsuccessful. I think this is a little more open-ended in terms of what it could mean for the game. One speculation is that it could signify that the world is a shared experience and players could leave each other messages, like in the Souls games. Maybe something like “Watch out for the tail” or “The fire breath hurts”.

The Monsters are No Joke

Now you can obviously see that the fights are not some simple hack and slash fest. You will have to dodge accordingly, strike effectively and make sure to avoid getting crushed. Something subtle I noticed was that when our warrior approached the monster, the monster was simply just lying there. Like the beast was waiting for our hero. As if it has seen many like him before and is not taken aback by seeing another warrior approach. So it may be safe to assume that these monsters will be very challenging and they will be ready for a fight.

Dying is Only The Beginning

After we see our warrior battle it out with the dragon creature, we see him fall as if he has lost and, more importantly, died. At one minute and sixteen seconds, we see our hero walking, then blood starts to flow on the ground and a tree becomes crystallized. Then as the warrior looks on, large shadowy creatures emerge in the distance. I have a couple of theories about this section of the video:

1. My first theory is that the warrior has been slain by the dragon creature and is now on the “other side” so to speak. This other side is where you could end up facing these demon looking monsters. I think a good supporting element for this is the tree. It changes from just a regular tree to this sharp, crystal looking structure and it could signify that you are no longer in the world of the living.

2. My second on this is that the dragon creature was essentially just a gatekeeper to these demons. And you have to get past the dragon to be able to fight the demons.

Whatever you may think and despite how wrong I may be, Project Awakening looks like a very interesting game. I am looking forward to seeing more and hopefully (thanks to the recent trademark) we may see something soon. Keep an eye on this one.