Hey there everyone, Pip from No More Robots here! I’m so excited to bring you the news that Nowhere Prophet, our dust-punk deckbuilder will be launching on PlayStation 4 on July 30!
Nowhere Prophet sees you crossing a post-apocalyptic wasteland on a planet called Soma, where civilization has broken down and the lack of resources made everyone turn either bandit or madman. At its end lies the mysterious Crypt, which promises safety and prosperity for you and your band of followers – each of which is a fragile card that can be wounded or killed along the way. Can you keep your followers safe along this treacherous trail?
Nowhere Prophet is a single player, deckbuilding card game with procedurally generated maps, a high difficulty and permadeath. Set in an unforgiving world, here everything will be stacked against you. Each member of your deck that you collect, buy or trade is either a human being, a loyal beast or a machine built to aid you cross the wasteland and each one comes with their own name. Be careful getting attached though, if these suffer two consecutive wounds they’ll die, and be removed from your convoy forever.
Despite the permadeath, Nowhere Prophet is a game about hope. Sharing luxuries with your people and showing kindness along the road will be hard, but ultimately, it’ll generate a power that will allow you to reach the end of the world. While being cruel might be an easier option, your convoy will struggle to keep on the fight without a glimmer of hope. You’ll also gain bonuses for how you interact with the world, with your dealings with religion, knowledge and altruism opening up more pathways and choices for you and your convoy to take along the way!
At the game’s heart, there are two distinct parts of gameplay: travel and combat. Each offers their own challenges and will put your convoy in all sorts of danger. You’ll have to be clever and play to your convoy’s strengths in both parts to triumph – each has their own advantages across the various area types and when dealing with the numerous factions that roam the lands.
During travel you navigate across a procedurally generated map, making each trip across the wastes different. You’ll have to make sure your convoy has enough resources to travel as you pick your route – some are definitely more dangerous than others but provide better rewards. Your choices as you move will be vital! As you travel on, you’ll encounter a myriad of strange places and even stranger people, each with something different to offer, and you will be thrust into situations that put the fate of your followers in your hands. How you react to these will shape you and your convoy, so choose wisely!
If you’re lucky enough to gain some rewards, maybe for helping someone – or robbing them, then you can invest those to improve your decks. This could be picking up more followers for your cause, grabbing some luxuries to keep your convoy’s hope alive or a new piece of armour/weaponry to make your prophet stronger. You’ll also be able to level up and learn new skills to aid in combat, as well as study under teachers to give your people the best chance in reaching your goal.
You will have to overcome some enemies to keep your convoy and resources together, or you’ll need to look to pick fights to right wrongs or just grab some new loot – here the game becomes a turn-based strategy card game that you must win to survive! Play convoy cards to put your followers onto the field and overcome your enemy, or use skills to change up the battlefield, but be careful: If you’re wounded you will have to find a safe place to heal, and if one of your followers takes too many wounds, they are lost forever.
Throughout the game you’ll notice a strong Indian flavour — inspired by his heritage and frustrated at how few games shone a light on Indian culture, Martin Nerurkar (Creative Director) has filled Nowhere Prophet with rich and meaningful themes and symbols, from the colour-schemes and patterns that fill the world to the wonderful soundtrack that combines traditional instruments with the grit of post-apocalyptica! Each of the factions in the world has been carefully brought to life so that every time you play, you’ll be met with a diverse cast of interesting characters, beasts and drones that all carry that unique impression.
An immense amount of love has been put into Nowhere Prophet since 2014, and we’re so happy it’s coming to PS4 on July 30. We really hope you love it as much as we do!
We’ll meet you at the Crypt!
